Every new Russian shelling of Kharkiv results in thousands of broken windows and damage, says Kharkiv’s mayor, Ihor Terekhov, UkrInform reports. 

“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 reveals.

Municipal services promptly seal off the building envelopes to preserve heat and ensure residents’ safety. Some construction materials are provided by charitable organizations, but, according to Terekhov, the volumes are significantly less than in previous years of the war.

“We are receiving very little now from the funds. The assistance is shrinking, probably due to a lack of financial resources. And it’s not getting easier for us,” the mayor continues.

Volunteers actively help municipal workers eliminate the consequences of the strikes, especially in hard-to-reach buildings.

For example, in a 24-story building in the Saltivka district damaged during the night shelling on 12 June, construction materials had to be carried up manually because the elevators were without power.

The mayor also emphasizes that after each attack, Kharkiv residents unite and support the municipal and emergency services. He recalls an incident when, during a morning shelling on Hymnaziyna Embankment, a local resident brought sandwiches to workers clearing the damage.

This is no accident. This is a war crime. Russia is waging a deliberate war on Ukrainian rescuers, striking six fire stations in one week, says Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko. 

The Ukrainian minister has accused Russia of deliberately targeting emergency services, calling recent attacks on fire and rescue units a campaign of “deliberate terror.” Over just one week, six fire stations across Ukraine were hit, injuring 12 emergency workers who risk their lives daily under fire.

“Even after the strikes, our rescuers put their uniforms back on and headed to where someone may still be breathing beneath the rubble,” Klymenko says.

From 26 May to 2 June, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service came under fire nearly ten times. Fire-rescue units were hit in Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Sumy, and Kharkiv oblasts. The attacks damaged six fire stations and destroyed six emergency vehicles.

One of the most brazen strikes, according to Klymenko, occurred on the morning of 2 June in Stepnohirsk, Zaporizhzhia Oblast. After drones struck a fire station, Russian forces launched a second strike targeting rescuers evacuating the wounded.

Twelve emergency personnel were injured, and two vehicles were destroyed in the attack. The wounded are now receiving medical and psychological care.