Russian missiles continue to destroy educational centers

On the morning of February 5, Russia launched a rocket attack on the center of Kharkiv, a city of over a million people in eastern Ukraine, just 40 kilometers from the Russian border.

Prosecutors and police investigators are already working at the scene of the attack.

According to the investigation, on February 5, 2023, at about 8:20 a.m., the Russian military launched a missile attack on the central district of Kharkiv.

One of the missiles hit the five-story building of the Oleksiy Beketov Kharkiv National University of Urban Economy. The strike caused serious damage. A security guard was injured.

Since February 24, Russian shelling has damaged several buildings of the university: “The main building was hit directly, and three floors were destroyed. The architectural building – windows, doors, equipment. Windows and doors in the administrative building were blown out. The museum building was damaged, and many exhibits were hidden. I am an optimist, we will do everything. We will defeat this bastard,” said the rector of the university, Volodymyr Babayev.

Another missile hit a residential building. Four residents were injured: a 58-year-old man, two women aged 54, and an 83-year-old woman.

It is also reported that the number of wounded has increased to 5 people.

According to preliminary data, the occupiers fired two S-300 missiles at Kharkiv from the territory of the Belgorod region.

This is not the first act of terrorism against educational institutions in Kharkiv. Before the invasion, this city was considered one of the educational centers of Ukraine. For almost a year of the war, Russian missile strikes have destroyed the building of the Faculty of Economics of V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, the sports complex of this university, the main building of H. S. Skovoroda Kharkiv National Pedagogical University, and more. The vast majority of these objects are historical and architectural monuments.

Also, according to information, as of September 2022, Russia destroyed or significantly damaged 113 schools in the city.

In November 2022, IAEA safeguards and nuclear safety experts conducted a joint inspection of the Kharkiv Institute of Physics and Technology, where the Neutron Source research subcritical nuclear facility is located, and found significant damage caused by shelling by the Russian aggressors.

Russia continues to strike one of Ukraine’s largest cities. The destruction of educational infrastructure may cause an additional humanitarian crisis in the city.