Russia pounds Kharkiv in deadly barrage that strains Ukraine defense

KYIV, UKRAINE >> Russian rockets slammed into residential buildings in Kharkiv before dawn Saturday, Ukrainian officials said, killing at least six people and injuring at least 11 more in the latest assault on Ukraine's second-largest city.

“Russian terror against Kharkiv continues,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine said in a statement. “It's crucial to strengthen the air defense for the Kharkiv region. And our partners can help us with this.”

Ukraine's air defenses have come increasingly under strain since U.S. military support stopped flowing into the country more than six months ago, and future assistance remains uncertain amid Republican resistance in Congress to a $60 billion aid package.

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has hinted that he soon would bring the issue of military aid for Ukraine to a vote in the House, but he also has said he might tie the issue to unrelated matters such as domestic energy policies that could complicate its passage.

At the same time, Russia has replenished and expanded its stockpile of missiles, guided bombs and attack drones and is stepping up its bombardments across the country.

Kharkiv, second in population only to Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, and only about 25 miles from the Russian border, has been hit particularly hard.

Russian forces tried and failed to encircle and capture the city in the first months of the war.

As Russia has stepped up its aerial bombardments of Kharkiv, it has for the first time deployed powerful guided bombs to hit the city.

More than 20,000 buildings have been destroyed in Kharkiv since Russia launched its full-scale invasion. Ukrainian government officials estimate that it will cost more than $10 billion to rebuild everything that has been destroyed.

In the most recent overnight attack, Russia hit residential neighborhoods with a barrage of S-300 missiles, which were fired from Russian territory and can reach Kharkiv in under a minute, Ukrainian officials said.