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

By ILLIA NOVIKOV
Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Officials say that Russian missiles have slammed into Ukraine’s second-largest city in the northeast of the country and killed at least seven civilians. They said at least 20 people were wounded as S-300 missiles struck the city of Kharkiv early on Thursday. Explosions reverberated around the city of some 1 million people. Kyiv’s army is laboring in the Kharkiv region to hold off an intense cross-border offensive by the Kremlin’s larger and better-equipped forces. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the attack “extremely cruel.” He 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 of unrelenting war.