16 killed, 43 hurt in Russian strike on DIY superstore

Ukrainian President condemns daylight attack on an obviously civilian’ target

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Russia bombed a hardware superstore in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on May 25, killing at least 16 people and wounding over 40, Ukraine officials said, in an attack condemned as "vile" by President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Kharkiv regional governor Oleg Synegubov said on Telegram that 16 people "have already been recorded dead" and 43 were wounded after two guided Russian bombs hit the store.

Police said six of the dead had been identified, including a 12year-old girl who was visiting the city, while several people were still listed as missing.

Two of those killed "were men who worked in the hypermarket", Mr Synegubov said earlier in a video on Telegram.

Thick, black smoke billowed from the gutted building of the Epitsentr DIY superstore in the north-eastern outskirts of the city, as firefighters sprayed water on a blaze sparked by the strikes, AFP journalists saw.

The Epitsentr chain sells house hold and DIY goods.

Still wearing her uniform, Ms Lyubov, a cleaner at the hypermarket, told of how she escaped the building.