An overnight Russian drone strike has killed three toddlers and their father in Ukraine’s north-eastern Kharkiv region, according to local officials.
Regional head Oleh Synegubov said the victims were two-year-old twin boys, Ivan and Vladyslav, and their one-year-old sister, Myroslava. Their father, Hryhoriy, 34, also died when their home was hit in the town of Bohodukhiv.
The children’s mother, Olha, 35, survived the attack but suffered minor burns.
In a statement on social media, Synegubov described the strike as “brutal.” He added that the family had recently evacuated from a town near the Russian border in an attempt to escape constant shelling.
“It was their first night in the new place,” he said.
Bohodukhiv, located north-west of Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, has been under near-daily Russian attacks in recent days. On Monday, a 41-year-old woman and a 10-year-old boy were killed in the town, local authorities confirmed.
Elsewhere in eastern Ukraine, Russian forces dropped seven bombs on the city of Slovyansk in the Donetsk region on Tuesday. Regional head Vadym Filashkin said three people, including an 11-year-old girl, were killed in the attack.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said Moscow has intensified pressure on the region by targeting transport and energy infrastructure with a record number of ballistic missiles.
Local authorities in the Kharkiv region have declared a state of emergency over the worsening energy situation. The move comes after a temporary “energy truce” — aimed at easing pressure on Ukraine’s power sector during temperatures as low as -20C — expired last week.
Tens of thousands of people across Ukraine are experiencing severe power outages. Many households remain without running water or heating amid the freezing conditions.
The renewed attacks follow a week-long pause earlier this month, which former US President Donald Trump had reportedly asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to observe.
Zelensky also said the United States wants the war to end by June and has invited representatives from both sides for talks next week.
Meanwhile, Russia reported a large-scale Ukrainian drone attack on Volzhsky in the Volgograd region on Wednesday night. Regional Governor Andrei Bocharov said an apartment building was damaged and a fire broke out at a factory following the strike.
Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The conflict has since resulted in thousands of civilian casualties and widespread destruction across the country.
