UKRAINE, KHARKIV OBLAST, May 19 — Russia hit a recreation center in Cherkaska Lozova, a village in Kharkiv suburbs, with a double tap missile attack, killing six and injuring 27 people, including an 8-year-old child, two paramedics, and a police officer. The Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office reported on the updated death toll.
The first Russian missile hit the village at 11:00 a.m., the second — 10-15 minutes after medics and police arrived. Double-tap strike is a known Russian tactic aimed to injure or kill first responders arriving at the impact site of a first missile to help.
As of now, law enforcement agencies have identified three dead people, reported the head of police in Kharkiv Oblast, Volodymyr Tymishko. Among the people killed in a double-tap was a 7-month pregnant woman.
All people injured in an attack are currently hospitalized. Eight of them have severe injuries; they are in the intensive care unit.
Tymoshko said there hadn’t been any military objects in a recreation center since the start of the Russian full-scale invasion. “The Russian army hit the center when people were resting.” Every injured and dead in an attack is a civilian.
Russian attacks on Kharkiv and the Kharkiv region have become more frequent since Russia launched a new offensive north and northeast of the region in Vovchansk and Lyptsi directions on May 10.
One of the recreation center’s visitors, Andrii, told Gwara Media that he left the center half an hour before the attack to take care of an errand. The Russian attack killed his daughter and two friends. His father-in-law and another acquaintance are hospitalized.
A resident of Chersaska Lozova, Liubov, said that, after the first explosion, she and her husband went to hide in a basement. Someone knocked on their gates. An injured man lay near their yard. Along with her neighbor, she provided medical aid to him, and then the ambulance arrived and took him.
“Nadia said she applied tourniquets to both his hands and his leg. Then she said, “Let’s go there [to the recreation center]. I said we shouldn’t because a second explosion might happen,” Liubov said.
Just as Liubov got inside again, a second missile hit. An explosive wave damaged two windows, walls, and the roof of her house.
74-year-old Mykola, Valentina’s husband, was killed in a strike at Cherkaska Lozova. Valentina told GM that Mykola went for a walk. After the first explosion, she ran out to find her husband. She managed to reach the gates of her house before the second strike. The blast smashed its windows.
“I was cut a bit after the second explosion. There is dried blood on my hands and legs. I started calling my husband, but his phone was already out of service. I walked down a street and saw him lying there,” Valentina said.
Preliminary findings of the investigation show Cherkaska Lozova was hit with Iskander-M missiles, reports Kharkiv regional Prosecutor’s Office.
On May 19, Russia also hit the Kharkiv Central Park and a local cemetery with glide bombs. One woman had an acute stress reaction after the attack.
Photo credits: An aftermath of Russian double-tap strike on a recreation center in a village in Kharkiv suburbs on May 19. / Ivan Samoilov for Gwara Media
Read more
- Russian glide bomb attack on Kharkiv on May 17 kills 3, injures 31 people
- Military: Russia’s assault continues in Kharkiv region but less intensively
Vika Mankovska, Ivan Samoilov, and Denys Klymenko were reporting from the impact site in Cherkaska Lozova today. It’s gotten more dangerous to work in Kharkiv since Russia launched a new offensive in Kharkiv Oblast, but we’ll keep doing it. It’s important for the world to know what Russia does to our home. Thank you for following our reporting from the region — you can also support us on Patreon, BMC, or PayPal.
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