Three killed in Kharkiv in latest Russian drone attacks on Ukraine
'Seventeen strikes by enemy UAVs were carried out within just 10 minutes in two districts of the city this night,' Kharkiv's Mayor Igor Terekhov said.
More than 15 apartments were on fire in a five-storey building and several houses were hit. 'There may be people trapped under the rubble," Terekhov added.
The strikes caused widespread destruction in the Slobidskyi and Osnovianskyi districts of Kharkiv, hitting apartment buildings, private homes, playgrounds, industrial sites and public transport.
'Those are ordinary sites of peaceful life — those that should never be targeted,' Terekhov wrote on Telegram, as Kharkiv regional head Oleh Syniehubov said that nine children aged between 2 and 15 were among the injured.
Emergency crews, municipal workers and volunteers worked through the night to extinguish fires, rescue residents from burning homes, and restore gas, electricity and water services to the area.
Images from the scene published by Ukraine's Emergency Service on Telegram showed burning apartments, shattered windows and firefighters battling the blaze.
Ukraine's Air Forces said Russia attacked Ukraine overnight on Wednesday with 85 Shahed-type drones and decoy UAVs, which targeted the northeastern city and other areas.
Air defence systems managed to neutralise 49 drones, intercepting 40 and jamming nine more with electronic warfare.
Separately, the death toll from a wave of Russian strikes Tuesday morning on Kyiv and Odesa rose to at least three and another 13 wounded after Moscow attacked the areas with drones and missiles.
A maternity ward and residential buildings were among civilian targets hit, according to Odesa's regional head Oleh Kiper.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy voiced frustration about the lack of response from the US and other countries over the recent escalation of Russian attacks, including a record 419 Russian drones which were launched at Ukraine on Monday night.
"Russian missile and Shahed strikes drown out the efforts of the United States and others around the world to force Russia into peace," the Ukrainian leader posted on X on Tuesday morning.
For yet another night, instead of a ceasefire, there were massive strikes with Shahed drones, cruise and ballistic missiles."
Zelenskyy said 250 of the drones were Shaheds, and two of the seven missiles were of 'North Korean production'.
After receiving historic support for the High Seas Treaty at the UN Ocean Conference in Nice, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Tuesday that its entry into force is "within sight".
The treaty, which provides a legal framework for establishing marine protected areas and regulating activities on the high seas, gained momentum on Monday. However, its implementation is not yet guaranteed.
Guterres urged all remaining nations to ratify the pact quickly to make it legally binding.
During his address, he highlighted significant opposition to the treaty's goals.
"There is a tipping point approaching, beyond which recovery may become impossible. And let us be clear. Powerful interests are pushing us towards the brink," Guterres stated.
"We are facing a hard battle against a clear enemy. Its name is greed. Greed that sows doubt, denies science, distorts truths, rewards corruption, and destroys life for profit."
If it comes into force, the treaty would be the first legally binding international agreement to protect biodiversity on the high seas, which cover nearly two-thirds of the world's oceans.
It is considered vital to counter overfishing, end plastic pollution, regulate seabed mining, and meet the global '30 by 30' conservation goal, which aims to protect 30 per cent of the planet's oceans by 2030.
Stressing the urgency, Guterres also reminded delegates that climate change goals cannot be ignored.
"Last year, for the first time, the annual global temperature was 1.5 degrees Celsius hotter than pre-industrial times. Scientists are clear that that does not mean that the long-term global temperature rise limit of 1.5 degrees is out of reach," he said. "It means we need to fight harder. And the ocean depends on it, and so do we."
Eighteen countries ratified the treaty on Monday, bringing the total to 49, just 11 short of the 60 needed for the ocean agreement to enter into force.
The surge in support adds momentum to what could become a historic shift in how the world governs the open ocean.
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