A Russian missile strike that broke in half a 240-metre (787-foot) television tower in Kharkiv on Monday is part of a deliberate effort by Moscow to make Ukraine's second largest city uninhabitable, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said.
Dramatic footage obtained by Reuters showed the main mast of the television tower breaking off and falling to the ground in the city that has been pounded by missile and drone strikes for weeks.
🇺🇦 #Ukraine: The Russian military hit and destroyed the Kharkiv TV tower during a missile attack today. The attack has reportedly caused interruptions in cellular and TV signals throughout the region. pic.twitter.com/MaaU0Xt7wK
— POPULAR FRONT (@PopularFront_) April 22, 2024
The Ukrainian leader said he told U.S. President Joe Biden about the airstrike that was carried out several minutes before they spoke by telephone.
"It is Russia's clear intention to make the city uninhabitable," he said in a readout of the call published on the Telegram messaging app.
Later, in his nightly video address, the president said the attack was "an obvious attempt at intimidation so that the terror was visible to the whole city and an attempt to limit Kharkiv's access to communication and information".
The northeastern city of Kharkiv with a population of 1.3 million lies just 30 km (18 miles) from the Russian border, making it an easy target for ballistic missiles and other weapons as Ukraine's air defenses have dwindled. |
| People walk next to a part of a TV tower partially destroyed by a Russian missile strike |
Its power facilities have been damaged particularly badly since Russia last month began targeting the energy system with massive strikes.
"At the moment there are interruptions to the digital television signal," regional governor Oleh Synehubov said.
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