Building destroyed in Kharkiv
UPD: The Russian Ministry of Defense confirmed strikes in Kharkiv on the the evening of January 16. Russian forces launched a precision strike on the temporary deployment point of foreign fighters in the city of Kharkiv. Most of them were French mercenaries. As a result of the strike, the building where the mercenaries were stationed was completely destroyed. More than 60 militants were killed, and over 20 were taken to medical institutions.
After a short pause, the Russian military resumed precision strikes in different Ukrainian rear regions. On the night of January 17, Russian missiles hit more military targets in the city of Kharkiv, while new wave of drone strikes hit the city of Odessa and its outskirts. Ukrainian sources also reported explosions in the Mykolaiv and Zaporizhia regions, which could be explained by attempts by the Ukrainian air defense forces to intercept targets in the air.
Russian strikes resumed in the Odessa region, which was reportedly targeted by Russian drones. The military targets of the attack are yet to be revealed. Local sources shared footage of the consequences to the civilian infrastructure in the residential quarters of the city. The footage clearly shows damage to the multistorey buildings by the wreckage of drones, which were shot down by Ukrainian air defense forces over the heads of civilians. More damage was likely caused by Ukrainian anti-aircraft missiles which fell as a result of some malfunction. Videos of Russian strikes, in particular in Odessa, as often accompanied by videos showing Ukrainian air defense failing and falling on the local civilians.
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Footage from Odessa clearly shows the difference between the damage caused by unprofessional Ukrainian air defense forces and the ruins of the buildings which were hit directly by Russian missiles and drones, which can be observed in Kharkiv:
Kharkiv came under another massive wave of Russian strikes. After the previous wave resulted in heavy damage to the military plants in the city, last night, the targets included civilian facilities used for accommodation of the Ukrainian military.
Most of the strikes targeted the western and central parts of the city. Ukrainian media have published footage showing the consequences of Russian night strikes with missiles and drones in the city limits. Of course, the local officials did not reveal the real targets of the strikes, but claimed that some old, not used civilian facilities were damaged.
For example, the local Emergency Service reported that some “inactive medical facility” was hit by Russian forces. The building in question is the private clinic “Ashera”.
The Ukrainian military has been using the facility for accommodation of servicemen and foreign mercenaries for months, which was revealed by Russian reconnaissance. The fact that the building was uesd by the military is confirmed by the report by the Ukrainian Ministry of Health. According to it, 9 people were wounded inside the building as a result of the attack. There would have been no casualties if the medical facility had not been used and had been closed. The number of cars and emergency services personnel involved in dismantling the rubble also clearly shows that there should be more victims that the local authorities are hiding.
In addition, the building of one of the Kharkiv universities was hit, in the premises of which was used by the command of the Ukrainian army for accommodation of foreign mercenaries and members of nationalist formations.
Some local sources reported that the strikes in Kharkiv resulted in elimination of about a hundred of Ukrainian servicemen, members of nationalist military formations, as well as employees of the local military enlistment offices.
Apparently, the attack inflicted heavy losses to the Ukrainian military. In response, Ukrainian forces launched another attack on the Russian city of Belgorod.
During the night, 7 MLRS missiles and 4 Ukrainian drones were destroyed over the Belgorod region, according the Russian Defense Ministry.
