Six Killed as Russian Drone Strikes Park in Ukraine’s Kharkiv Region

KHARKIV: (News Desk) – At least six people, including two children, were killed and 15 others injured when a Russian drone struck a public park in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region on Monday, local authorities said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the attack as a “pure atrocity,” saying the drone hit civilians in a park near a local cafe in Nova Vodolaga.

Among those killed was a one-year-old girl, Angelina, and her mother, Zelensky said in a Facebook post. Regional Governor Oleg Synegubov confirmed that two children were among the dead, revising an earlier report that three children had been killed.

Seven children were among the 15 people wounded in the strike, Synegubov added.

The attack took place in a central park in Nova Vodolaga, a town that had a population of around 10,000 before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Synegubov condemned the strike as another act of terrorism, saying the park had no military infrastructure and was being used for recreation when the drone hit.

Images released by Kharkiv regional police showed a burnt-out stroller, damaged playground equipment and a wooden structure partially collapsing following the attack.

Zelensky renewed his call for Ukraine’s international partners to strengthen the country’s air defence capabilities amid rising tensions with US President Donald Trump. He also urged Washington to maintain sanctions against Russia for as long as the killings continue and called on European countries to sustain their support for Kyiv.

His appeal came as the European Union faces difficulties securing sufficient funding to address Ukraine’s growing budget deficit.

Meanwhile, authorities in the Russian-occupied eastern Lugansk region reported that three people were killed when a Ukrainian strike hit a vehicle transporting a deceased person to a funeral.

Leonid Pasechnik, the Moscow-installed regional leader, said the attack targeted a funeral service vehicle and claimed the lives of three people.