Ukrainian Firefighters Tackle Blaze After Russian Kamikaze Drone Attack On Kharkiv

These images show Ukrainian firefighters tackling a huge blaze after a Russian kamikaze drone attack on Kharkiv last night.

The video begins by showing Ukrainian firefighters tackling the fire as flames are seen inside a destroyed building.

Fire engines can be seen deployed at the seen as the emergency workers spray the blaze with hoses and use ladders to climb into the wrecked building.

Officials in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second city, said on Tuesday that a drone had destroyed two floors of a college dormitory.

The images were obtained from the main department of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in the Kharkiv region on Tuesday, 1st August, along with a statement saying: "Kharkiv: video of liquidation of the consequences of another shelling of the city.

"We will remind, on the night of 1st August, as a result of a night attack by drones, two buildings were destroyed, one of which caught fire."

Russia invaded Ukraine on 24th February 2022 in what the Kremlin is still calling a "special military operation". Today marks the 524th day of the full-scale war.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that between 24th February 2022 and 1st August 2023, Russia had lost about 246,690 personnel, 4,216 tanks, 8,205 armoured combat vehicles, 4,839 artillery units, 699 multiple launch rocket systems, 462 air defence systems, 315 warplanes, 311 helicopters, 4,027 drones, 1,347 cruise missiles, 18 warships, 7,324 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, and 718 units of special equipment.

Russia has claimed that its casualties have been much lower but provides infrequent updates on its latest figures.

A 10-year-old child and at least five other people have been killed, with 50 more people injured, after Russia hit a high-rise apartment with missiles in Kryvyi Rih.

The Ukrainian authorities have said that people are trapped under the rubble.

Oleksiy Kuleba, the deputy head of Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s office, said: “Every day, Ukrainian cities are under fire from Russian terrorists. Sumy, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro, Kharkiv. This is only for the last few days.”

He said that Russia’s targeting of civilians reflects “the despair and defeat of the Russian Federation at the front”.

Olena Zelenska, Ukraine’s first lady, said: “This is how the week begins in a Ukrainian city that just wants a quiet, normal life. Russia wants to take peace and life away.”

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has said that his country and Croatia have agreed that it may be possible to use Croatian ports on the Adriatic Sea and the Danube to export Ukrainian grain following talks on Monday with his Croatian counterpart.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said on Monday that Russia had destroyed approximately 180,000 metric tonnes of Ukrainian grain in just nine days in July.

Saudi Arabia will reportedly host a Ukrainian peace summit this month, although Russia has not been invited to the talks in Jeddah.