Aerial strikes on Russian and Ukrainian border cities claimed the lives of at least a dozen people on Friday, amid a military shake-up in Kyiv that saw the dismissal of Ukraine's air force commander. The bombardments resulted in significant casualties on both sides, with Russian forces striking the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, killing seven people, including a 14-year-old girl, and injuring at least 77 others, according to Ukraine's interior minister. Emergency responders worked into the night to recover bodies from the rubble of a multi-storey residential building that had been heavily damaged by the attack.
Meanwhile, across the border in Russia, Ukraine launched a retaliatory strike using cluster munitions on the city of Belgorod, killing at least five civilians and wounding 37 others, including six children. Regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov reported the deaths and shared videos of fires and debris on the streets. Both cities, Kharkiv and Belgorod, have been frequent targets of aerial strikes since the war began two and a half years ago, with no signs of the conflict abating. As the violence continues, Moscow's forces claimed to have captured more villages in eastern Ukraine, while Kyiv announced advances into Russia’s western Kursk region.
In a related development, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced the dismissal of Mykola Oleshchuk, the country's air force chief, following the crash of a US-made F-16 fighter jet that resulted in the death of a Ukrainian pilot. The removal of Oleshchuk, which Zelensky described as a move to strengthen Ukraine's military leadership, comes at a critical time for Kyiv, which has been actively seeking more advanced weaponry from Western allies to bolster its defense against Russian aggression. The recent aerial bombardments and leadership changes underscore the ongoing volatility and high stakes of the conflict.
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