Following the sudden cancellation of the Budapest meeting between Donald Trump and Putin, scheduled for next week, Ukrainians were already expecting the Russian autocrat to launch bloody attacks against the civilian population. Without the need to pretend any interest in reaching a peace agreement, the Shahed drones, true killing machines, targeted a nursery full of children in the early morning in the border city of Kharkiv.
Images show emergency services rescuing the children. According to Zelensky, "a Russian drone attack has hit a nursery in Kharkiv, following a massive overnight attack." "Unfortunately, there is one fatality. My deepest condolences to the family. So far, seven injured individuals are receiving medical attention. All children have been evacuated and are now in shelters," he continued. "Preliminary reports indicate that many are showing acute stress reactions. There is no justification for a drone attack on a nursery, nor can there ever be. It is clear that Russia is becoming increasingly brazen. These attacks are a defiance by Russia to all those who insist on a peaceful solution. Bullies and terrorists can only be put in their place by force," concluded the Ukrainian leader.
The Ukrainian civilian population is already familiar with the timing and impulses of Putin's regime and can accurately predict, with fatalistic precision, the frustrations of the Russian leader and the consequent punishment in the form of terror. Kharkiv is a city located just 30 kilometers from the Russian border and, therefore, the front line of the war. Russia could never conquer it but has relentlessly bombarded it from the beginning with weapons of all calibers. This morning, a nursery full of children was targeted. The sound of the anti-aircraft alarm alerted the caregivers, who swiftly moved the children to the basement shelter. That is why none of the children lost their lives or were injured. The nursery, located in the city center, was partially destroyed and engulfed in flames. Emergency services evacuated the children one by one amid the cries of parents waiting outside the evacuation area.
Five people in the vicinity of the nursery were seriously injured, one of whom died shortly after.
In addition to this atrocious act, Russia launched a wave of 405 drones and 28 missiles during the night. At least six deaths were reported, including two children in Kyiv. The capital was the main target of the attack, which also struck the regions of Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhia, Cherkasy, Chernihiv, and Odesa.