Kharkiv: 10 die, 35 hurt in rocket strikes, President Zelenskyy says protecting Kyiv key

Ukraine-Russia conflict: Interior ministry adviser Anton Herashchenko said the toll would rise as debris was being cleared. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the attack “war crime” and “undisguised terror”.

Kharkiv saw at least 10 deaths and injuries in 35 people on Tuesday in rocket strikes by Russian forces on the centre of Ukraine's second-largest city. In a social media post, interior ministry adviser Anton Herashchenko said the toll would rise as debris was being cleared.

Rescuers seen in a building, which city officials said was damaged by a missile, in central Kharkiv, Ukraine on Tuesday. (REUTERS)

"The rubble is being cleared and there will be even more victims and wounded," he said as the Kremlin's offensive in Ukraine entered its sixth day.

Ukrain’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian missile had hit central square of the border city, calling it “war crime” and “undisguised terror”.

Stating that defending the capital Kyiv from Moscow was a top priority, Zelenskyy said in a video statement, "The strike against Kharkiv is a war crime. This is state terrorism on the part of Russia,"

On the sixth day of Russia's invasion, "the defence of the capital today is the key priority for the state," he added.

According to estimates by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, one million were ainternally displaced people in Ukraine

An Indian student lost his life in heavy shelling in Kharkiv by Russian troops during the day.

Regional administration chief Oleh Sinehubov said the administration headquarters in the city center came under Russian shelling a day ago.

Images posted online showed the building’s facade and interior badly damaged by a powerful explosion that also blew up part of its roof. The state emergency agency said the attack wounded six people, including a child.

Sinehubov said at least 11 people were killed and scores of others were wounded during Monday’s shelling of the city.

(With agency inputs)