In 2025, Russians killed 41 residents of Kharkiv and injured over 970 people – Mayor Terekhov
Throughout 2025, Russian forces shelled Kharkiv 728 times. As a result of these attacks, 41 people were killed, and another 973 were injured, including 106 children. Over the course of the year, nearly 2,400 objects in the city were damaged or destroyed, bringing the total number of such buildings since the start of the full-scale war to over 13,000, Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said in an interview with the news agency Ukrinform.
Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov“The numbers speak for themselves. In 2025 alone, the city was shelled 728 times. 973 people were injured, including 106 children. Unfortunately, we lost 41 residents; they were killed. This is our greatest pain. Because any walls can be rebuilt, but a life cannot be restored,” the Mayor emphasized.
According to Terekhov, the Russian army constantly changes its tactics and employs various types of weaponry in combined strikes against the city. Therefore, throughout the four years of the full-scale war, Kharkiv has had to adapt to new threats, with constant aerial attacks remaining the primary danger.
Over the course of the year, Russian forces deployed aviation, guided glide bombs (KABs), missiles, jet-powered Shahed drones, and AI-powered drones against Kharkiv. As the Mayor noted, the Russian occupiers deliberately combine different types of attacks to intensify the psychological pressure on the city’s residents.
Energy remains one of the most acute challenges for the city, as the operation of water and heating systems, as well as the city’s basic functioning, depends on it. During a single heating season alone, Russian forces attacked Kharkiv’s energy facilities 50 times.
According to the Mayor, the city is working to make the energy grid less vulnerable: Kharkiv is installing cogeneration equipment, creating backup power schemes, and decentralizing energy infrastructure, as large-scale facilities remain the primary targets of Russian strikes.
To provide background, as a result of Russian shelling on May 7, 2026, nine civilians in Kharkiv sustained injuries.
Ukrainian experts point out that countries including China, North Korea, Hungary, Slovakia, Iran, and Brazil assist Moscow in killing Ukrainians in its war against Ukraine by funding the Russian budget through trade.
Meanwhile, the Office of the President of Ukraine reported that President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed decrees enacting National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine decisions to impose further sanctions on 32 Russian companies and 34 Russian nationals supplying products to Russia’s military-industrial complex.
Among them are companies that supply goods for S-300 and S-400 systems, the Topol, Yars, and Iskander ballistic missiles, as well as gunpowder, rocket fuel, and munitions components.
Also under sanctions are Russian enterprises producing electronic intelligence systems, airborne platforms for special equipment, and companies integrated into supply chains for high-precision industrial equipment and electronic components in circumvention of sanctions.”
The list also includes individuals who attempted to organize the lifting of U.S. sanctions against Russia and soften the EU’s position.
Ukraine said it will share all relevant information with its international partners to fully synchronize sanctions across foreign jurisdictions.
In addition, Ukraine extended sanctions against 13 individuals and 21 legal entities. Restrictions against them were first introduced in 2023.
Ukraine also extended restrictive measures against Irina Babakova, Natalia Selivanova, and Vadim Giner, who are linked to the activities of the VS Group Management financial and industrial group in Ukraine, created by sanctioned Russian nationals and former members of the Luzhnikovskaya criminal group – Alexander Babakov, Mikhail Voyevodin, and Yevgeny Giner.
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