Four killed in Russian missile strike on Ukraine’s Khakiv

News Desk :
A Russian missile strike on a small village in the Kharkiv region in the east killed four people on Saturday, regional governor Oleh Synehubov has said.
Mr Synehubov initially said on the Telegram messaging app that four people were killed as a Russian anti-tank guided missile hit a car driving towards the village of Huriyv Kozachok, which is near the border with Russia.
Later he gave provided an update, saying that two volunteers – a 42-year-old man and a 53-year-old woman – were killed, reports RTE News.
Ukraine liberated many villages and towns in the Kharkiv region last autumn but since then the Russian military has frequently shelled the area, destroying critical infrastructure and injuring and killing residents.
Separately, Russian air defence units repelled a Ukrainian drone attack overnight on a pumping station on the Druzhba oil pipeline in the Bryansk region adjoining Ukraine, the region’s governor said.
Three Ukrainian military drones were destroyed in the attackin the Novozybkov district, Alexander Bogomaz wrote on Telegram.
Drone attacks inside Russia have been increasing in recent weeks, frequently targeting energy facilities.
Russia blames Ukraine although Kyiv does not publicly acknowledge responsibility for them.
The southern branch of the Soviet-era Druzhba pipeline crosses Ukraine and, despite the conflict there, continues to supply crude oil to Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
The latest incidents come as a high-level African delegation is preparing to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, a day after its calls for talks between Moscow and Kyiv were rebuffed by Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky.