Russia strikes school stadium in Kharkiv’s residential district, injures 7, including 4 children (in photos)

UKRAINE, KHARKIV, May 8 — At about 1:30 p.m., Russian troops hit Kharkiv’s Saltivskyi district with a missile or drone, injuring seven people, including five children, reports Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov. 

Kharkiv is Ukraine’s second-largest city that Russia has attacked relentlessly with missiles, drones, and glide bombs since the beginning of the full-scale invasion — Kharkiv is close both to the border with Russia and the frontline. 

Blood on the stairs leading up to the school. Russian troops strike the school’s stadium in Kharkiv on May 8, injuring seven, including four children / Photo: Ivan Samoilov for Gwara Media

Right after the Russian attack, police reported that it injured a 55-year-old man and three boys of 14, 14, and 15 years. All were hospitalized. An 81-year-old woman had an acute stress reaction and refused hospitalization.

Two boys had severe injuries. One of them was diagnosed with head and lung trauma; he will also be undergoing foot amputation. Another boy had moderate injuries.

The explosive blast from the attack shattered the school’s windows. Gwara Media’s journalist talked to the school’s director about the attack — she was in her office when it happened.

“I heard a loud explosion, very loud. We went to the [school’s] hall, and a child entered, said, ‘Call me an ambulance, my leg is injured.’ I called an ambulance, got outside, and saw another two [kids] in the stadium. Called again, and asked for two more ambulance cars.” 

Olena, the school’s director 

Updated information from the police indicated that the number of casualties increased: another child, an 8-year-old girl, was injured, as well as two women, aged 80 and 32. A girl was hospitalized with moderate injuries, and two women received aid on-site. 

Volodymyr Tymoshko, the head of a region’s National Police, said, “It’s a residential district without any military objects. The playground is on the school’s territory. Three boys who study in this school went to play football there.” Tymoshko told GM the boys live in one of the residential apartment buildings nearby.

A police officer at the hit site of Russian attack on Kharkiv on May 8. The attack injured seven people, including four children / Photo: Ivan Samoilov for Gwara Media

The type of weapon used for the attack is being established, reports the regional Prosecutor’s Office. Preliminary assessment shows it was a missile or a drone attack. 

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Сover photo: A municipal worker in Kharkiv after Russian strike on school stadium on May 8 / Ivan Samoilov for Gwara Media

Read more 

• Governor: Russians attack 14 communities in Kharkiv Oblast, injure 3, including 16-year-old 
• Russians drop a 1,500-kilogram bomb on a village in the Kharkiv region, killing an 88-year-old woman. Ukrainian police say it’s the first documented case of Russians using a gliding modification of the FAB-1500 bomb in the region.