Six impacts within 300-meter radius: What is known about Russian strike on Sports Palace in Kharkiv
Photo: Russian army deliberately targeted the Sports Palace in Kharkiv (t.me/prokuratura_kharkiv)
During the Kharkiv shelling on September 1, six rocket impacts were recorded in the Nemyshlia district, where the Sports Palace is located. All impacts were within a 300-meter radius, according to Dmytro Chubenko, spokesperson for the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor's Office, in a comment to the RBC-Ukraine YouTube channel.
"In the Nemishlia district, there were impacts and significant damage to two buildings of the sports complex. The Russians used a total of 6 ballistic rockets there. Preliminary information suggests about 3-4 Iskander-M missiles and 2-3 S-300 or S-400 missiles. The building has suffered very serious damage," Chubenko explained.
According to him, the total number of casualties has reached 47 people as of the morning, including 7 children.
"I want to emphasize that in this area, there were 6 impacts within a 300-meter radius. This indicates that the Russians deliberately targeted the sports facility," Chubenko stressed.
He specified that one of the missiles hit a playground near the sports complex, while the others struck around the building.
"Essentially, the Russians have committed a war crime that cannot be contested. Since Friday, they have been actively shelling Kharkiv with guided bombs. Prior to that, for about a month, guided bombs had not been used on Kharkiv," Chubenko noted.
The representative of the regional prosecutor's office mentioned that there were even hopes that air bombs would not reach Kharkiv due to the threat of them being intercepted by Ukrainian air defense systems.
"However, unfortunately, strikes were carried out. FAB-500 bombs with a UMPC (Universal Planning and Correction Module) were used. The next day, a hybrid air-to-ground missile, the Grom-E1, was used on Kharkiv," Chubenko said.
He explains that this weapon is something between a cruise missile and an air bomb. It has a warhead weighing 315 kilograms, compared to the FAB-500, where the 500 refers to the total weight of the bomb, and the warhead itself is about 200 kilograms.
"The Grom-E1 has also not been used on Kharkiv for a long time—several months, maybe even more. The last instance I remember was an impact on Gorky Park (formerly known as Gorky Park, now Central Park-ed.) in the central part of the city. Again, it was an impact on a grassy area in the park. It is unclear what military objectives they were pursuing," Chubenko added.
Strikes on Kharkiv on September 1 and 2
It is worth noting that after a relative "pause," the enemy has once again intensified their attacks on Kharkiv. Specifically, on September 1, the Russian forces carried out rocket strikes on three locations in the city: the Sports Palace, a shopping center in the Saltivskyi district, and an area near the Hydropark in the Kyivskyi district. As a result, dozens of people were injured, including children, medics, and rescuers.
Additionally, during the night, the city was attacked by Shahed drones. Around 1:00 AM, a woman was injured in the Kyivskyi district due to an enemy drone strike. A private house was also damaged.
By morning, Russia launched further strikes on the Industrial district. In a garden community, a private house and three non-residential buildings were set on fire. There were no reported casualties.
