Ukraine: At Least 21 Killed In Shelling Of Kharkiv, Officials Claim

At least 21 people have been killed and another 112 wounded in shelling of Ukraine's second-biggest city, Kharkiv.

Just yesterday, March 1, rockets and missiles hit the opera house, concert hall and government offices in Kharkiv's Freedom Square, with the provisional death toll standing at 10 people and 35 others injured. 'This is terror against Ukraine. There were no military targets in the square - nor are they in those residential districts of Kharkiv which come under rocket artillery fire,' Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

As Vladimir Putin's 'special military operation' enters its seventh day, with air raid sirens still blaring in Kyiv amid fears of further strikes, fighting erupted in Kharkiv, with paratroopers launching an attack on a military hospital and shelling rocking the city.

At least 21 people were killed as Russia intensified its attacks across the country overnight into today, March 2. This figure, also including 112 injured, accounts for the past 24 hours of shelling in Kharkiv, confirmed by the city's governor Oleh Synyehubov, as per Sky News.

Synegubov also said 'the Russian enemy suffered significant losses', with the governor of Kharkiv Regional State Administration claiming all Russian attacks 'were repulsed' and positions held, even amid heavy bombardment.

It's unclear whether there's been any civilian casualties as a result of Russian paratroopers launching an airborne assault on a military hospital in Kharkiv, although fighting was ongoing at 4.00am GMT.

According to Kharkiv Region Police Chief Volodymyr Tymoshko, no Ukrainian troops have been killed in the fight. 'Currently the situation near the hospital is under control, security has been strengthened,' he said.

A Russian missile strike overnight in the city of Zhytomyr also killed two people. While the attack was believed to be aimed at an airbase, it ended up hitting residential areas, resulting in the deaths of two people and injuring 16 others, according to Ukraine's Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Anton Gerashchenko, a government official, claimed the death toll was higher, writing, 'So far, four people have died. Including a child.' Ukraine's foreign ministry tweeted a video from what appears to be the aftermath of the strike, claiming it hit a maternity home.

The UN estimated at least 136 civilians have been killed and 400 injured as a result of the conflict, mainly due to missile strikes, but the actual death toll could be much higher; according to figures released by Ukraine's government, as many as 352 civilians may have been killed, with more than 1,600 injured.

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