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Gallery|Russia-Ukraine war

Photos: Russian bombing leaves Ukraine’s Kharkiv in ruins

Local officials say at least 500 people have been killed and 600 buildings destroyed since Russia launched its invasion.

Damaged vehicles and buildings in Kharkiv city center in Ukraine
Damaged vehicles and buildings in Kharkiv city centre [Pavel Dorogoy/AP Photo]
Published On 16 Mar 2022

At least 500 people have been killed in the city of Kharkiv since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine on February 24, the regional emergency service has said.

Ukraine’s second-largest city, located in the country’s northeast, has been subjected to relentless bombardment by Russian forces for weeks. Mayor Ihor Terekhov said in a televised interview on Tuesday that more than 600 buildings have been destroyed since the start of Russia’s invasion.

“Schools, nurseries, hospitals, clinics have been destroyed. The Russian army is constantly shelling [us] from the ground and the air,” he said.

Ukraine’s armed forces said Russian troops had not yet succeeded in surrounding the major city, agreeing with Western analysts that they are short of supplies and ammunition.

Russian forces will likely struggle to bypass the city while resistance continues, the Institute for the Study of War think-tank has said.

A firefighter works at a site of a fire, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues, in Kharkiv,
A firefighter battles the flames at a site set alight by shelling in Kharkiv. [Oleksandr Lapshyn/Reuters]
Ukraine
People walk past a school damaged by shelling in Kharkiv. [Oleksandr Lapshyn/Reuters]
KHARKIV, UKRAINE - MARCH 15: A view of a building, damaged as a result of shelling of the city by Russian missiles in the center of Kharkiv
A building damaged by Russian shelling in the centre of Kharkiv. [Anadolu]
KHARKIV, UKRAINE - MARCH 15: First responders work in a building that was struck by a grad rocket attack of Russia in Kharkiv
First responders work in a building that was struck by Russian shelling. [Wolfgang Schwan/Anadolu]
Ukrainian firefighters work by a destroyed apartment building in Kharkiv
Ukrainian firefighters search through the rubble of a destroyed apartment building in Kharkiv. [Andrew Marienko/AP Photo]
A view shows a destroyed Russian army multiple rocket launcher on the outskirts of Kharkiv
A destroyed Russian army multiple rocket launcher on the outskirts of Kharkiv. [Sergey Bobok/AFP]
A volunteer of the Ukrainian Territorial Defense Forces stands next to his APC in Kharkiv
A volunteer of the Ukrainian Territorial Defence Forces stands next to an armoured personnel carrier in Kharkiv. [Andrew Marienko/AP Photo]
A volunteer of the Ukrainian Territorial Defense Forces assists a woman to cross the street in Kharkiv
A volunteer of the Ukrainian Territorial Defense Forces helps a woman to cross the street in Kharkiv. [Andrew Marienko/AP Photo]