(CNN) — A wave of Russian missile attacks hit several locations in Kharkiv on Thursday, including a printing press in the regional capital, killing seven people, as Kremlin forces advance.
Russian troops took advantage of a weakened front line in Ukraine and over the past two weeks advanced toward Kharkiv. Parts of the region were captured by Russian forces early in the war before being liberated.
The seven dead, at least five of whom were women, were civilians working for the Factor-Druk printing house in the regional capital, the city of Kharkiv, according to regional governor Oleh Syniehubov. 16 people were injured at the printing plant located south of the city center, and another seven were injured elsewhere.
After the attack, images emerged of the factory partially reduced to rubble and with the façade torn off.
Volunteers carry the body of a person killed by Russian attacks at a printing plant in Kharkiv, this Thursday. Credit: Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters.
Factor-Druk publishes about a third of the country’s books and 10% of its newspapers, the company says on its website.
The Ukrainian state railway network was also attacked early in the morning and six employees were injured, according to a company statement. A CNN crew traveling in the area saw two craters and smoke coming from the impacts near a railroad track.
Civilians were also caught up in a new wave of violence sweeping the region. On May 15, Russian forces shot at people desperately trying to flee the city of Vovchansk, killing a woman who was in a wheelchair being pushed by her husband, Ukrainian prosecutors reported.
“Extremely brutal”
The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, denounced the “extremely brutal Russian attack” against Kharkiv and the city of Lyubotyn, and warned of the fragility of Kyiv’s air defenses in the face of Moscow’s new attack.
“Russian terrorists are taking advantage of the lack of air protection and reliable capabilities to destroy terrorist fighters at their exact locations, which are close to our borders,” Zelensky posted on X.
Earlier this month, the United States approved a $400 million package of air defense munitions and other weapons for Ukraine. But senior officials in Kyiv warned that the recent wave of aid will not be enough to fend off further Russian advances.
CNN journalists in the town of Lyptsi, about 32 kilometers (20 miles) north of the city of Kharkiv, saw troops using old and inadequate weaponry in an attempt to repel highly equipped Russian units reinforced with drones.
Zelensky is increasingly exasperated by the condition imposed by Washington and other Western allies that the weapons they provide to Ukraine cannot be used to deliver munitions to Russia.
“I don’t think there should be any restrictions, because this is not about the Ukrainian army using Western weapons on Russian territory for an offensive,” Zelensky told reporters in Kyiv earlier this month. “This is defense.”
White House officials said earlier this month that they stood by their stance on the issue.
“We do not encourage or permit attacks using U.S.-supplied weapons systems inside Russian territory,” U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said during a May 17 press conference. “That’s the policy. That has not changed”.
— CNN’s Nick Paton Walsh, Mick Krever, Kosta Gak, Brice Laine, Svitlana Vlasova and Radina Gigova contributed reporting.
