Russian drone strikes on Kharkiv early Thursday morning killed at least four people, including three rescue workers, and injured 12 more, according to Ukrainian officials.
In a post on the Telegram messaging app, Kharkiv Mayor Igor Terekhov said Iranian-made shahed drones struck a 14-story residential apartment block, destroying several floors and resulting in a death and multiple casualties.
A repeat attack on a separate area of Ukraine’s second-largest city killed three rescue workers who had arrived on the scene after the first strike, he added.
As NATO foreign ministers gather in Brussels to mark the defense alliance’s 75th anniversary, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reportedly said on Thursday that relations between Russia and NATO have “slipped to the level of direct confrontation.”
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told state news agency RIA in an interview published Thursday that dialog with Moscow had been reduced to a “critical zero” by Washington and Brussels.
However, Grushko reportedly said that Russia has no intention of entering into open conflict with any NATO member.
Correction: This blog has been updated to reflect that the Russian drone strikes on Kharkiv occurred early Thursday morning.
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