A Russian missile strike on Tuesday killed five civilians and wounded 55 others in the town of Izium, located in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region, officials reported. The attack partially destroyed the city council building.
Kharkiv’s regional governor, Oleh Syniehubov, stated on Telegram that a Russian ballistic missile struck the council building in the town’s central district. Among the injured were three children, as well as numerous local government and social services workers.
Vitaliya Kliuchanovych told Reuters that she was searching for two female relatives, aged 18 and 19, who had gone to collect documents from the passport service. Syniehubov later confirmed that both women—one of them pregnant—were among the casualties.
Bodies of the victims were seen lying in black bags on the pavement following the attack.
“This brutality cannot be tolerated. Maximum pressure must be applied to Russia—through military force, sanctions, and diplomacy—to stop the terror and protect lives,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on X in response to the strike.
The missile strike caused one section of the newly renovated council building to collapse entirely, shattering all of its windows. Syniehubov emphasized that no military facilities were located in the vicinity. The blast also damaged another administrative building and nearby residential blocks.
Olena Bespala, an employee in the child protection service, was at work when the attack occurred.
“The air raid alert sounded only at the moment of the strike. And then, literally one second later, there was an explosion… There were plumes of smoke, and everything was blown away,” she recounted, her face covered in bandages from her injuries.
Ballistic missiles typically reach Ukrainian regions near the Russian border within minutes of being launched, leaving little time for residents to seek shelter.
Izium, which was occupied by Russian forces early in Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, suffered extensive destruction. After Ukrainian forces liberated the town, officials reported discovering mass graves and accused Russia of committing war crimes—allegations that Moscow denies.
