Russian Drones Kill Kharkiv Market Traders, Plunges City Into Blackouts

Russian drones killed two traders at a Kharkiv market and struck critical infrastructure on Friday, Oct. 16, leaving 280,000 consumers without power as attacks hit four districts of Ukraine’s second-largest city.

The dead were a 71-year-old woman and a 58-year-old man, Kharkiv regional Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said. Mayor Ihor Terekhov identified both as market traders.

Officials reported 19 people affected by the attacks. Ten were hospitalized, including two in serious condition. The figures were released as further strikes were being reported across the city.

Medics resuscitated a man wounded near the heart following the morning attack on Kharkiv, Viktor Zabashta, director of the regional emergency medical center, told reporters, according to Suspilne Kharkiv.

He described the man’s condition as critical and said more than a dozen other injured people needed medical care, most for shrapnel wounds.

Eleven ambulance crews responded, Zabashta said. One woman with multiple shrapnel wounds declined hospitalization, though medics were trying to persuade her to accept further treatment.

Drone impacts were reported in the Osnovianskyi, Shevchenkivskyi, and Industrialnyi districts during the morning.

Mayor Terekhov said an attack on critical infrastructure cut electricity to 280,000 customers. The initial reports did not specify when power would be restored.

At about 11:57 a.m., another drone struck the roof of a civilian business in the Nemyshlianskyi district, injuring two people.

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A separate Russian drone attack hit a shopping center in central Sumy on Friday morning, injuring three people, the regional State Emergency Service said. The strike damaged the building’s roof and facade.