Clean-up work in Kharkiv after a drone attack on a residential building. Image: keystone
April 3, 2026, 1:56 p.mApril 3, 2026, 1:56 p.m
According to authorities, the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv near the border with Russia has been hit by constant Russian air strikes for more than a day. There were four rocket attacks on Friday night, wrote the military governor of the Kharkiv region, Oleh Synjehubov, on Telegram. Drones were also used. In the morning, the police reported five injuries and damage to residential buildings and office buildings.
According to the count of the Ukrainian General Staff, Good Friday is the 1,500th. Day of the large-scale Russian invasion. Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin had his troops invade the neighboring country on February 24, 2022.
Fast Russian jet-powered combat drones
Already on Thursday, the Russian army repeatedly attacked Kharkiv with combat drones. There was an air alert in the city almost around the clock. Ukrainian rescue workers spoke of Russian drones of the Iranian type Shahed with fast jet propulsion. Their flight time from Russia to Kharkiv is so short that defense is difficult.
Ukraine’s second largest city, which had 1.4 million inhabitants before the war, is only about 40 kilometers from the Russian border.
Ukrainian drones over Russia
On the Russian side, the Defense Ministry in Moscow announced that 192 Ukrainian drones had been intercepted on Friday night. Nothing was known about hits.
The trajectory of the Ukrainian attacks suggested that the Russian oil export ports on the Gulf of Finland near St. Petersburg were once again a target. (sda/dpa)