Kharkiv stands in ruins after Russia attacks. Daily strikes have devasted the city and caused over €10 billion in damage to Kharkiv, Mayor Ihor Terekhov told Report.

According to the city’s head, Russia has been systematically targeting Kharkiv’s civilian infrastructure for over three years. More than 12,000 sites have been destroyed or damaged, and most of them are residential buildings.

“160,000 Kharkiv residents have lost their homes. Explosions every day, destruction every day, and sadly, deaths and injuries,” says Terekhov. 

Thousands of residents are left homeless

The mayor notes that over 9,500 of the destroyed sites are residential buildings, meaning Russian missiles and drones are primarily targeting civilians. Since February 2022, Kharkiv has not seen a single day without shelling.

“Currently, the need for windows exceeds 50,000. Every strike increases this number by another thousand, one and a half, two. The record was more than five thousand in one attack,” the mayor revealed in June.

Reconstruction will require billions

“We are facing massive destruction. The city will need even more funds to rebuild,” Terekhov states, estimating the damage at around €10 billion.

Still, he stressed, “no amount of money can bring back the lives and health lost.”

Terekhov underscored that Kharkiv is under constant attack and that “civilian targets are primarily being hit.”

The scale of destruction and number of victims make it clear: Russia is deliberately devastating Ukraine’s largest city near the border.

Earlier, Russia tested its new modified bomb in an attack on Kharkiv. Children, an infant, and a pregnant woman were among the wounded. A new type of aerial bomb, the UMPB-5, with 250-kg warhead, hit the central part of the city in the first known use of this weapon.

Two airstrikes were launched from over 100 kilometers away. The strikes damaged 20 residential buildings, including 17 apartment blocks in the Shevchenkivskyi and Kholodnohirskyi districts. The blast wave shattered over 600 windows, forming a crater in the street. Seven cars were destroyed by fire, and 18 more were damaged. One industrial facility caught fire, resulting in a large-scale blaze.

German company Hensoldt AG says it has received an order worth € 340 million to supply Ukraine’s air defense forces with TRML-4D and SPEXER 2000 3D MkIII radar systems. These radar systems have already been in use in Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion.

“Our high-performance radars are urgently needed by Ukrainian air defence,” says Hensoldt CEO Oliver Dörre, emphasizing that the company is proud to supply systems that are “critically important for protecting civilians.”

What is TRML-4D?

TRML-4D radars are based on advanced Active Electronically Scanned Array technology. They can simultaneously detect and track up to 1,500 targets within a radius of up to 250 km, including drones, aircraft, helicopters, and cruise missiles.

Their fast response time and ability to operate under complex conditions make TRML-4D systems essential in providing precise countermeasures against Russian aerial attacks.

SPEXER 2000 is the “eyes” of Skyranger guns

SPEXER 2000 3D MkIII systems are designed for the automatic detection and classification of ground, maritime, and low-flying aerial targets. They are integrated into the Rheinmetall Skyranger 30 air defense gun system, which provides close-range and very short-range protection.

The system is based on the wheeled armored Boxer vehicle, equipped with a combat module featuring a 30mm Swiss Oerlikon KCA gun firing 1,200 rounds per minute. Optionally, it can be fitted with a launcher for two FIM-92 Stinger or Mistral missiles, according to Militarnyi. 

The gun’s ammunition includes a wide range of shells, including airburst rounds with radio fuses. The total ammunition load consists of 252 30mm shells. The vehicle is equipped with five antennas, providing full 360-degree coverage.

It also features the Rheinmetall FIRST passive target acquisition system, which excels at detecting small targets. Since it emits no radar signal, the system can operate without being detected by enemy electronic intelligence.

The system is a part of Germany’s NNbS program, a new short-range air defense “umbrella” for the Bundeswehr, meaning Ukraine is receiving the best from NATO’s arsenal.

Keith Kellogg got an uncomfortable look at how Western sanctions on Russia are failing. During his visit to Kyiv, the US Special Representative to Ukraine examined Western-made electronics that Ukrainian intelligence pulled from destroyed Russian weapons—the same components fueling attacks on Ukrainian cities.

The exhibition was coordinated by the War&Sanctions portal of the Main Intelligence Directorate, working alongside the Defense Forces of Ukraine and the Kyiv Research Institute of Forensic Expertise. The display featured components extracted from destroyed or captured Russian weaponry by Ukrainian military intelligence personnel.

Among the items presented to Kellogg were Western elements found in Iranian-Russian Shahed kamikaze drones, also known as “geranium” drones, and Russian “gerbera” drones. These weapons systems have been consistently deployed against civilian targets in Ukraine.

But the problem runs deeper than drone components. Ukrainian analysts identified precision microelectronics critical for manufacturing high-accuracy weapons systems. Russia’s defense industry acquired these through what intelligence officials call “gray schemes”—unofficial networks designed to bypass sanctions.

“The international community must strengthen control over compliance with sanctions imposed on Moscow,” said Cipher, a Main Intelligence Directorate serviceman. “Manufacturers should take a more responsible approach to controlling their products in international markets.”

Head of Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence Kyrylo Budanov also warned Kellogg during their meeting in Kyiv that Russia’s war ambitions extend far beyond Ukraine and are projected to last until 2036, including preparations for a major conflict not only against Ukraine but also NATO. 

Earlier, President Zelenskyy highlighted a significant loophole in international sanctions that allows Russia to continue producing its nuclear-capable Oreshnik intercontinental ballistic missiles using Western technology. 

In 2024, Russia increasingly relied on North Korean KN-23 ballistic missiles to strike Ukraine, while analysis of missile fragments revealed that these weapons contain significant Western-made electronic components, primarily produced by companies from the US, the Netherlands, the UK, and Switzerland, some manufactured as recently as 2023.

These foreign parts include crucial guidance system circuitry without which the missiles could not function, highlighting that the missiles are reliant on imported Western technology despite sanctions.

Experts believe China acts as an intermediary in supplying these components to North Korea, raising concerns about loopholes in export controls and the illicit trade fueling Russian missile capabilities.

The US is taking an unprecedented step to strengthen Ukraine’s air defenses. President Donald Trump has announced that 17 Patriot surface-to-air missile systems will soon be transferred to Ukraine, RBC-Ukraine reports. 

Some of them are expected to arrive within days. He made the statement during a joint press conference with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

According to Trump, the Patriot systems will be provided by a partner country that won’t be needing them, and the US is already arranging their rapid delivery.

Last week, the US president confirmed that Patriots would be sent to Kyiv and that European allies would cover their cost.

The announcement comes amid continued Russian attacks and could prove to be a key factor in reinforcing Ukraine’s air defense capabilities in the coming weeks. In June alone, Moscow launched 330 missiles and 5,000 drones on Ukraine. 

Meanwhile, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine has documented 232 civilian deaths and 1,343 injuries the same month, marking the highest monthly casualty toll in three years as Russian forces launched ten times more missile strikes and drone attacks than in June 2024.

The surge demonstrates Moscow’s strategic shift toward terrorizing populations across practically every Ukrainian region as Russian military casualties exceed one million, forcing reliance on terror tactics against defenseless civilians rather than battlefield advances.

Earlier, reports emerged that Trump was considering providing Ukraine with powerful air-launched JASSM cruise missiles.

With a range of up to 370 km, a 450 kg warhead, and high-precision targeting, the JASSM could change the dynamics of Ukraine’s defense capabilities, especially amid Russia’s summer offensive.