Two people killed after Russian missile hits shelter at Nova Poshta distribution hub near Kharkiv

Two out of the four people killed in a Russian strike on the outskirts of Kharkiv on the night of 12-13 January were inside a shelter near a Nova Poshta distribution hub at the time of the attack. [Nova Poshta is Ukraine's largest private postal operator – ed.]

Source: Oleh Syniehubov, Head of Kharkiv Oblast Military Administration, in a comment to Suspilne Kharkiv, a Kharkiv-related branch of Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne; Yevhen Vasylenko, spokesperson for the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Kharkiv Oblast, in a comment to Ukrainska Pravda

Quote from Syniehubov: "There was a shelter. The shelter was almost completely destroyed. Early reports show that the missile struck the shelter directly, and two people were killed inside it… Another two people were killed inside the distribution hub itself."

Details: He added that two other people who had been near the shelter survived.

"Two people were rescued by State Emergency Service units from under the rubble during air raids – during a Shahed drone attack," Syniehubov said.

He also noted that Russia carried out a combined strike on the facility.

"First there were Iskander missiles. After State Emergency Service units arrived at the scene, the attack continued with Shahed strike drones," Syniehubov said.

SES spokesperson Yevhen Vasylenko told Ukrainska Pravda that a modular shelter located next to the distribution hub on the street was destroyed in the Russian strike. Two people were killed there, while two others were pulled alive from under the rubble.

"It was a modular concrete shelter, similar to a bus stop. It was completely destroyed. Two people were found dead, and two were rescued from under the debris," Vasylenko explained.

Vasylenko also added that several dozen people were trapped inside the centre itself and were later rescued.

"There was also a shelter inside the distribution hub. People were trapped there and could not get out due to heavy smoke and fires. The strike caused several fires – lorries and the hub structures were burning. People could not leave because of the smoke and flames, and rescue workers managed to save 28 people there," the State Emergency Service spokesperson said.

Syniehubov said that four people have been taken to hospital. Their condition is assessed as moderate.

Background:

• On the night of 12-13 January, four civilians were killed and six people sustained injuries of varying severity in a combined Russian attack with missiles and drones on a suburb of Kharkiv.
• Nova Poshta reported that four company employees were killed in the Russian missile strike: two employees at the sorting centre and two drivers from a partner delivery company.
• Oleh Syniehubov later published photos of a distribution hub in a suburb of Kharkiv belonging to Nova Poshta that was destroyed by Russian forces and where four people were killed.

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