KHARKIV, UKRAINE, Apr 4 — Alina’s family was in the hall of her flat when the Russians launched an air attack on Kharkiv on the evening of Apr 3. Her husband went outside to see what was happening, “and he realized it was bad.”
“He ran back, took up our youngest child, and ran to the basement. I gathered our things and followed them,” Alina says to Gwara’s journalists. Now, her flat doesn’t have a single intact window. Her family temporarily lives with friends—Alina doesn’t know how fast the windows can be replaced and how quickly they’ll be able to return home.
For the third night in a row, Russia attacked Kharkiv with drones, hitting several locations in the Novobavaskyi district of the city. Gwara Media’s journalists were at the site of the attack right after the strike and on the morning of the following day.
Drone strikes killed five people, including a man and a woman with their 12-year-old daughter, their neighbor aged 45, and a man who was hospitalized in the aftermath of the strike but died from severe injuries at 88.
Four people are currently in moderate condition in the hospitals—nine injured are hospitalized, including a child aged 16, said Alina Storozhko from a press service of the Kharkiv Oblast’s military administration on April 4.
Kharkiv, a city that’s about 20 miles from the border with Russia, has been a target of Russian attacks frequently since the beginning of the full-scale invasion.
Overall, the Russian attack injured 34 people, including three children—and a police officer (who weren’t at work), Olena Sobolevska, a spokesperson for Kharkiv police, told Gwara.
On the evening of Apr 3, Gwara spoke to Valentina, a resident of the damaged house, says she heard four explosions. She lives on the fifth floor, her flat’s windows and doors are blown out.
“Everything was burning, cars were exploding, windows were blown out. We jumped out (outside), and whew. We couldn’t understand what (exactly) hit here. These weren’t “sounds,” it was Armageddon. Everything was shaking,” Valentina says.
Police say Russian troops used unmanned aerial vehicles of Geran-2 type (modified Iranian-made Shahed drones.)
As of 12:00 on Apr 4, it’s known that Russia damaged 37 buildings and dozens of cars in the Novobavarskyi district of the city, reports the Kharkiv city council. The blast wave blew off 809 windows and 211 balcony windows.
Alina, who currently lives with friends, says she made sure hers knew how to behave during Russian attacks and is certain every parent needs to teach theirs. “Mine weren’t hysterical, did everything quickly, almost weren’t panicking. That helped us to avoid stress,” Alina said.
Yevhen Vasylenko, a spokesman for Kharkiv’s State Emergency Service, said that, during search and rescue work in the district, one of the firefighters got injured. The firefighter was hospitalized with a concussion.
Cover photo: Residents of buildings damaged in Russian drone attack on Kharkiv’s Novobavarskyi district. Apr 3, 2025 / Hnat Holyk, Gwara Media
Serhii Prokopenko and Hnat Holyk reported on the aftermath of Russian drone strikes, and Yana Sliemzina translated it to English—thank you for following what’s happening in Ukraine’s second city. Please, consider supporting our journalism on Patreon and BMC.
Read more
- Russia strikes Kharkiv with Molniya drone, injures 5, including 10-year-old child
- (Updated) 2 killed, 35 injured in Russian drone strike on Kharkiv. Military hospital targeted
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