At least three children were among 20 people wounded as a result of a Russian drone attack on Ukraine’s second-largest city of Kharkiv overnight that damaged apartments and a kindergarten, Ukrainian authorities said on Monday. Kharkiv, which lies in northeastern Ukraine near the border with Russia, has been the target of regular Russian drone and missile attacks since the start of the war that Moscow launched with a full-scale invasion more than three years ago.
A fire broke out in a multi-story residential building in Kharkiv as a result of the attack, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said.
Oleh Sinehubov, governor of the broader Kharkiv region of which the city of Kharkiv is the administrative center, said that most of the injuries occurred in the city’s Shevchenkivskyi district.
Emergency services were working at the site, Sinehubov said on the Telegram messaging app.
The full scale of the attack was not immediately clear. There was no comment on the attacks from Moscow. Both sides deny targeting civilians in the war. But thousands of civilians have died in the conflict, the vast majority of them Ukrainian.
A Russian attack on the region of Sumy, also in Ukraine’s northeast, on Sunday afternoon killed two people and injured another two, while damaging about 20 buildings, State Emergency Service of Ukraine said on Telegram.
An overnight attack damaged several buildings and cars in three of the 10 districts of the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram. There were no reports of injuries, he added.
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Three children among 23 wounded in Russia’s drone attack on Kharkiv, Ukraine says
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Three children among 23 wounded in Russia’s drone attack on Kharkiv, Ukraine says
- 20 people were wounded following a Russian drone attack on Kharkiv as fires spread through residential buildings and a kindergarten
US, Japan defense chiefs say China harming regional peace
- Japan’s top envoy: China ‘disseminating information that is completely contrary to the facts’ about the radar incident
TOKYO: Beijing’s actions are “not conducive to regional peace,” Japan’s defense minister and US counterpart Pete Hegseth agreed during a call after Chinese aircraft locked radar on Japanese jets near Taiwan, Tokyo said Friday.
The December 6 radar incident came after comments by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Taiwan that infuriated China.
It was followed this week by Chinese-Russian air patrols around Japan.
Hegseth and Shinjiro Koizumi “exchanged candid views on the increasingly severe security situation in the Indo-Pacific region, including the radar incident,” the Japanese defense ministry said after the call.
They “expressed serious concern over any actions to increase regional tensions, as China’s actions are not conducive to regional peace and stability,” the statement added.
Koizumi said on X that he told Hegseth that China was “disseminating information that is completely contrary to the facts” about the radar incident.
“However, Japan has made clear that it does not seek escalation and that we are responding calmly while making necessary rebuttals, and we are keeping the door open for dialogue,” Koizumi added.
Hegseth’s office said that they “discussed... China’s military activities” among other issues including “Japan’s efforts to increase its defense spending and strengthen its capabilities.”
“Secretary Hegseth and Defense Minister Koizumi reaffirmed the importance of the US-Japan Alliance and underscored their commitment to deterring aggression in the Asia-Pacific,” the US statement added.
‘Tactical exercises’
Takaichi had suggested on November 7 that Japan would intervene with military force in any Chinese attack on Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own and has not ruled out seizing by force.
Last week, J-15 jets from China’s Liaoning aircraft carrier twice locked radar on Japanese aircraft that had scrambled in international waters near Okinawa, according to Japan.
Fighter jets use their radar for fire control to identify targets as well as for search and rescue operations.
But China’s foreign ministry on Wednesday accused Japan of sending the jets “to intrude into the Chinese training area without authorization, conduct close-range reconnaissance and harassment, create tense situations, and... maliciously hype up the situation.”
On Tuesday two Russian Tu-95 nuclear-capable bombers flew from the Sea of Japan to rendezvous with two Chinese H-6 bombers in the East China Sea, then conducted a joint flight around the country, Japan said.
Japan said that it scrambled fighter jets in response.
A day later, Japan and the United States air forces conducted their own joint air drills, Tokyo said.
The “tactical exercises” over the Sea of Japan involved two US B52 bombers, three Japanese F-35 fighter jets and three Japanese F-15s, Tokyo said.
South Korea said Tuesday that Russian and Chinese warplanes also entered its air defense zone, with Seoul also deploying fighter jets that same day.
Beijing confirmed on Tuesday that it had organized drills with Russia’s military according to “annual cooperation plans.”
Moscow also described it as a routine exercise, saying it lasted eight hours and that some foreign fighter jets followed the Russian and Chinese aircraft.
The December 6 radar incident came after comments by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Taiwan that infuriated China.
It was followed this week by Chinese-Russian air patrols around Japan.
Hegseth and Shinjiro Koizumi “exchanged candid views on the increasingly severe security situation in the Indo-Pacific region, including the radar incident,” the Japanese defense ministry said after the call.
They “expressed serious concern over any actions to increase regional tensions, as China’s actions are not conducive to regional peace and stability,” the statement added.
Koizumi said on X that he told Hegseth that China was “disseminating information that is completely contrary to the facts” about the radar incident.
“However, Japan has made clear that it does not seek escalation and that we are responding calmly while making necessary rebuttals, and we are keeping the door open for dialogue,” Koizumi added.
Hegseth’s office said that they “discussed... China’s military activities” among other issues including “Japan’s efforts to increase its defense spending and strengthen its capabilities.”
“Secretary Hegseth and Defense Minister Koizumi reaffirmed the importance of the US-Japan Alliance and underscored their commitment to deterring aggression in the Asia-Pacific,” the US statement added.
‘Tactical exercises’
Takaichi had suggested on November 7 that Japan would intervene with military force in any Chinese attack on Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own and has not ruled out seizing by force.
Last week, J-15 jets from China’s Liaoning aircraft carrier twice locked radar on Japanese aircraft that had scrambled in international waters near Okinawa, according to Japan.
Fighter jets use their radar for fire control to identify targets as well as for search and rescue operations.
But China’s foreign ministry on Wednesday accused Japan of sending the jets “to intrude into the Chinese training area without authorization, conduct close-range reconnaissance and harassment, create tense situations, and... maliciously hype up the situation.”
On Tuesday two Russian Tu-95 nuclear-capable bombers flew from the Sea of Japan to rendezvous with two Chinese H-6 bombers in the East China Sea, then conducted a joint flight around the country, Japan said.
Japan said that it scrambled fighter jets in response.
A day later, Japan and the United States air forces conducted their own joint air drills, Tokyo said.
The “tactical exercises” over the Sea of Japan involved two US B52 bombers, three Japanese F-35 fighter jets and three Japanese F-15s, Tokyo said.
South Korea said Tuesday that Russian and Chinese warplanes also entered its air defense zone, with Seoul also deploying fighter jets that same day.
Beijing confirmed on Tuesday that it had organized drills with Russia’s military according to “annual cooperation plans.”
Moscow also described it as a routine exercise, saying it lasted eight hours and that some foreign fighter jets followed the Russian and Chinese aircraft.
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