On the night of September 28, 2026, Russian forces launched another massive attack on peaceful Ukrainian cities, using guided aerial bombs (KABs) against Kharkiv. Densely populated residential areas of the city came under fire, resulting in significant infrastructure damage and casualties among civilians, including young children.
Details of the Nighttime Strike on Kharkiv
According to city authorities and Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov, the enemy launched a dual strike affecting two major districts of the city simultaneously — Kyivskyi and Saltivskyi. Initially, the Situation Center recorded impacts in the Kyivskyi district, but later updated data showed the heaviest consequences in the Saltivskyi district, where one of the aerial bombs exploded directly next to multi-apartment residential buildings, causing large-scale destruction.
Casualties and Residential Sector Destruction
As a result of the barbaric bombardment of the Saltivskyi district, three children sustained injuries of varying severity: a 12-year-old girl, an 8-year-old boy, and a very young 3-year-old girl. Medical teams promptly arrived at the scene to provide emergency assistance to the victims. In addition, local authorities reported damage to several residential buildings, broken windows, and destroyed structures due to the powerful blast wave.
General Context of Nighttime Attacks Across Ukraine
It is worth noting that this attack was part of a larger nighttime terror campaign against Ukraine. Simultaneously with the strikes on Kharkiv, the Russian army attacked the residential sector in Rivne Oblast, damaging a private house, and also carried out strikes on Kyiv and Kyiv Oblast, recording an impact on a high-rise building in Podilskyi District and on the territory of the Stolychnyi market in Sofiivska Borshchahivka, where deaths and injuries were also reported.
Contradictory Data
Certain discrepancies emerged in the information space regarding the total number of casualties and fatalities resulting from the Kharkiv attack. While official summaries focus on the wounded children and destruction in Saltivskyi District, some regional sources citing Mayor Ihor Terekhov report a wider scale of the tragedy, including one fatality and over ten injured city-wide as a result of the deployment of three guided aerial bombs. Rescue services continue to clear rubble and clarify the final data.
