A Russian drone slammed into the central park of Novo Vodolaha, a settlement in the Kharkiv region, on Monday, Oct. 19, killing two women and an infant.
Fourteen other people were injured, with half of them children, Interior Minister Ivan Vyhivskyi announced. The park was full of people, including families with young children, when the drone struck the area, killing the infant lying in its stroller.
JOIN US ON TELEGRAM
Follow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.
“Another Russian strike on civilians,” Vyhivski said. “An attack on children that had no military purpose whatsoever.”
Strike came mid-afternoon
The Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office said Russian forces struck the park at roughly 4:30 p.m. local time.
Preliminary findings point to a Geran-3, the Russian designation for a jet-powered version of the Iranian-designed Shahed attack drone.
Besides the casualties, the blast damaged a cafe building near the site.
Investigators cautioned that the casualty figures were still being verified, along with the full circumstances and consequences of the attack. Police and emergency crews remained working at the scene at the time of the report.
The Prosecutor’s Office launched a pre-trial investigation under Part 2 of Article 438 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code, which covers violations of the laws and customs of war that result in death.
As of Oct. 2, Ukraine’s National Police has opened nearly 244,000 criminal proceedings linked to Russia’s invasion. Of those, 226,766 are being investigated as war crimes under Article 438.
Other Topics of Interest
Russia Hits 28 Substations in Overnight Strike, Zelensky Says
The Ukrainian president said earlier that Kyiv was not forewarned of the incoming ballistic missiles.
Emergency crews continue searching for survivors
According to Vyhivskyi, emergency services had been deployed to the park and ministry units administered first aid to the wounded while specialists combined the grounds for unexploded ordnance.
Head of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration Oleh Synehubov confirmed the toll in an appearance on Ukraine’s national telethon, United News. He said that Ukraine’s State Emergency Service (SES) rescuers and ambulance teams were still working to identify everyone who needed help.
“This is another terrorist act by the Russian Federation. The enemy strikes a recreation park in the middle of the day, knowing there is no military infrastructure there,” he said.
Pressure on air defenses
Synehubov urged residents of the region not to ignore air raid sirens, saying that every alert signals real enemy targets overhead.
Ukrainian air defense units downed more than 700 aerial targets over Kharkiv city and the surrounding region in the past week alone, he said, a figure that illustrates how heavily the area is being attacked as Russia continues to strike civilian infrastructure near-daily.
Overnight into Monday, Russian forces launched cruise, ballistic missiles and at least 269 drones, including 59 jet-powered unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) on Ukraine nationwide, damaging civilian and energy infrastructure.
The strikes came amid a deepening public feud between Kyiv and Washington after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday, Oct. 16, waiving sanctions and tariffs on Russia, just two days before they were due to take effect.
The suspended measures included 500% tariffs on Russian imports and 100% duties targeting the five largest buyers of Russian oil and natural gas.
Meanwhile, Ukraine has reportedly exhausted its stock of US-made Patriot interceptors – the only weapons capable of deterring Russia’s ballistic missiles.
Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 90% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.