May 4 - A missile attack on the town of Merefa in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region killed five people and injured a number of others, regional officials said on Monday.
Oleh Syniehubov, the regional governor, reported that two men and three women lost their lives in the strike and that 18 people were wounded. He said four of the wounded were taken to hospital and were in serious condition.
Syniehubov described extensive property damage in Merefa, saying at least 10 houses had been hit. He added that an administrative building, four shops, a car repair workshop and a food establishment were also damaged in the attack. "Today during the day, the occupiers attacked civilian infrastructure of a town quite far from the front with a missile," he wrote on Telegram.
Regional prosecutors said Russian forces appeared to have used an Iskander-type ballistic missile in the strike.
Emergency service imagery released after the incident showed a building with a damaged roof and blown-out windows, a firefighter extinguishing a burning car, and rescuers attending to a woman lying on the ground with visible injuries to her face and hands. Officials have not provided further operational details about the strike in their public statements.
There was no immediate comment from Russia. Moscow has repeatedly denied intentionally targeting civilians during the conflict, though authorities say its attacks have killed thousands of civilians since the full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Ukrainian forces have also struck civilian targets inside Russia or in Russian-occupied territories, officials say, but those incidents have occurred on a smaller scale.
Local impact and response
Authorities and emergency responders in Merefa have been engaged in search, rescue and medical assistance following the strike. The combination of residential and commercial damage underscores harm to local housing, retail and service sectors as well as to municipal infrastructure.
Officials have provided limited details beyond casualty and damage figures, and investigations by regional prosecutors into the type of weapon used were cited in initial statements.