Russian missiles kill 7 in Ukraine's second-largest city as Moscow's troops press offensive

Russian missiles kill 7 in Ukraine’s second-largest city as Moscow’s troops press offensive

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Missiles slammed into Ukraine’s second-largest city in the northeast of the country and killed at least six civilians early Thursday, according to officials. It came as Kyiv’s army fought to hold off an intense cross-border offensive by the Kremlin’s larger and better-equipped forces.

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Servicemen of Ukraine’s 93rd Mechanised Brigade fire a French MO-120-RT heavy mortar at the Russian forces on the front line near the city of Bakhmut in Ukraine’s Donetsk region on Wednesday, May 22, 2024. (Iryna Rybakova via AP)

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Firefighters hose down a fire as a lifeless body lies under the rubble after a Russian missile hit a large printing house in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Thursday, May 23, 2024. Russian missiles slammed into Ukraine’s second-largest city in the northeast of the country and killed at least seven civilians early Thursday, officials said, as Kyiv’s army labored to hold off an intense cross-border offensive by the Kremlin’s larger and better-equipped forces. (AP Photo/Andrii Marienko)

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Rescuers carry a body after a Russian missile hit a large printing house in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Thursday, May 23, 2024. Russian missiles slammed into Ukraine’s second-largest city in the northeast of the country and killed at least seven civilians early Thursday, officials said, as Kyiv’s army labored to hold off an intense cross-border offensive by the Kremlin’s larger and better-equipped forces. (AP Photo/Andrii Marienko)

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This photo taken from video released by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Tuesday, May 21, 2024, shows a Russian Army BM-21 “Grad” (‘hailstorm’) self-propelled 122 mm multiple rocket launcher firing rockets in an undisclosed location in Ukraine. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

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Veterans and people lay flowers to a spontaneous memorial to soldiers killed in war with Russia in the Independence square in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, May 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

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Veterans and people lay flowers to a spontaneous memorial to soldiers killed in war with Russia in the Independence square in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, May 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

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FILE - A sapper inspects fragments of a Russian air bomb that hit a living area injuring ten in Kharkiv, Ukraine, May 22, 2024. Two U.S. officials say the Biden administration is expected to announce an additional $275 million in military aid for Ukraine on Friday. It comes as Kyiv struggles to hold off advances by Russian troops in the Kharkiv region. This will be the fourth installment of military aid for Ukraine since Congress passed a long-delayed foreign aid bill late last month.(AP Photo/Andrii Marienko, File)

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A POW’s child runs past activists during a rally demanding the release of Ukrainian soldiers who were captured by Russia during the war, in the Independence square in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, May 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

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Activists and relatives hold a rally demanding the release of Ukrainian soldiers who were captured by Russia during the war, in the Independence square in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, May 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

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Veterans and people lay flowers at a spontaneous memorial to soldiers killed in war with Russia in the Independence square in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, May 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

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Veterans and people lay flowers at a spontaneous memorial to soldiers killed in war with Russia in the Independence square in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, May 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

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Relatives and activists light flares and hold portraits of POWs during a rally demanding the release of Ukrainian soldiers who were captured by Russia during the war, in the Independence square in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, May 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

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Veterans and people lay flowers to a spontaneous memorial to soldiers killed in war with Russia in the Independence square in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, May 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

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People make camouflage nets for the Ukrainian army fighting with Russia in the Independence square in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, May 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

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Firefighters recover bodies from under the rubble after a Russian missile hit a large printing house in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Thursday, May 23, 2024. Russian missiles slammed into Ukraine’s second-largest city in the northeast of the country and killed at least seven civilians early Thursday, officials said, as Kyiv’s army labored to hold off an intense cross-border offensive by the Kremlin’s larger and better-equipped forces. (AP Photo/Andrii Marienko)

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A rescuer recovers a lifeless body from under the rubble after a Russian missile hit a large printing house in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Thursday, May 23, 2024. Russian missiles slammed into Ukraine’s second-largest city in the northeast of the country and killed at least seven civilians early Thursday, officials said, as Kyiv’s army labored to hold off an intense cross-border offensive by the Kremlin’s larger and better-equipped forces. (AP Photo/Andrii Marienko)

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Firefighters work to extinguish a fire as a lifeless body lies under the rubble after a Russian missile hit a large printing house in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Thursday, May 23, 2024. Russian missiles slammed into Ukraine’s second-largest city in the northeast of the country and killed at least seven civilians early Thursday, officials said, as Kyiv’s army labored to hold off an intense cross-border offensive by the Kremlin’s larger and better-equipped forces. (AP Photo/Andrii Marienko)

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Firefighters put out a fire after a Russian missile hit a large printing house in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Thursday, May 23, 2024. Russian missiles slammed into Ukraine’s second-largest city in the northeast of the country and killed at least seven civilians early Thursday, officials said, as Kyiv’s army labored to hold off an intense cross-border offensive by the Kremlin’s larger and better-equipped forces. (AP Photo/Andrii Marienko)

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By ILLIA NOVIKOV

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian missiles slammed into Ukraine’s second-largest city in the country’s northeast and killed at least seven civilians early Thursday, officials said, as Kyiv’s army labored to hold off an intense cross-border offensive by the Kremlin’s larger and better-equipped forces.

At least 20 people were wounded as S-300 missiles struck the city of Kharkiv, regional Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said. Explosions reverberated around the city of some 1 million people.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the attack “extremely cruel” and expressed renewed frustration at not getting enough air defense systems from the country’s Western partners to prevent the barrages after more than two years on unrelenting war.

The city of Kharkiv, which is the capital of the region of the same name, is about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the Russian border. Moscow’s troops have in recent weeks captured villages in the area as part of a broad push, and analysts say they may be trying to get within artillery range of the city.

The Russian push is shaping up to be Ukraine’s biggest test since Moscow’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, with outnumbered and outgunned Ukrainian forces being pressed at several points along the about 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line that snakes from north to south in eastern Ukraine.

Not PARSE.LY: Kharkiv

Russia blasts Ukraine with more aerial attacks as part of an intensified campaign

Russian bomb hits building in Ukraine’s 2nd largest city, killing 3, including 2 teens

Ukraine says its soldiers recaptured a Russian stronghold after hand-to-hand fighting

With Kyiv short of air defenses and waiting for more Western military support that only recently started trickling in, Ukraine’s army has been pushed back in places while Russia has pounded its power grid and civilian areas. Kyiv endured further power outages on Thursday.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said the attacks underscored the country’s “urgent” need for more U.S.-made Patriot systems to defend its skies.

Germany recently pledged one of the missile systems “but getting six more as soon as possible remains critical not only for Ukraine’s survival but for peace in Europe,” Kuleba wrote on the social media platform X.

The United States is expected to announce an additional $275 million in military aid for Ukraine on Friday, two U.S. officials told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity to provide details of the support before the public announcement.

But no air defense systems appear to be included in the package containing high mobility artillery rocket systems, or HIMARS, as well as essential 155 mm and 105 mm artillery rounds.

Zelenskyy said the main hotspots in recent fighting have been Kharkiv and the neighboring Donetsk region, where Ukraine’s defenders withdrew in February from the stronghold of Avdiivka. For the Kremlin, taking control of all of partially occupied Donetsk is a war priority.

At the same time, and in an apparent effort to stretch Ukraine’s depleted forces, Russian troops have made incursions in the northern Sumy region.

Nearly 1,500 people, including 200 children, have been evacuated from the towns of Bilopillia and Vorozhba there, according to regional Gov. Volodymyr Artiukh.

“The main focus (of the fighting) is on the entire border area,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address Wednesday.

In Liubotyn, a small town about 10 kilometers (6 miles) west of the city of Kharkiv, Russian missiles struck the town’s center, wounding eight civilians. In Derhachi, another nearby town, 13 people were wounded in another aerial strike, authorities said.

Russia’s defense ministry said Thursday that its forces had taken control of the Donetsk settlement of Andriivka, which Ukrainian forces had held since grueling combat in September that left the village in ruins.

Elsewhere in Donetsk, Russian forces claimed advances in the vicinity of Chasiv Yar, Konstantinovka and Rozdolivka.

It was not possible to independently verify the claims. Recent Russian advances have been incremental.

Ukraine has also trained its sights on regions across the border in Russia.

Russia’s defense ministry said Thursday that 35 Ukrainian rockets and three drones were shot down over the Belgorod region. Regional Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov said one drone struck a house and exploded after being shot down, killing a woman.

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Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine