Six people have been killed and at least 14 injured in a Russian missile attack that hit a postal distribution centre in the war-devastated north-eastern city of Kharkiv, Ukrainian officials say.
"Russian missiles hit the Nova Poshta centre - an ordinary civilian object," President Volodymyr Zelenksiy said on the Telegram messaging app on Saturday.
He posted a video showing s building with windows blown out and construction materials strewn about, with red trucks with Nova Poshta written in Ukrainian in front of it.
Oleh Synehubov, the governor of the broader Kharkiv region of which the city of Kharkiv is the administrative centre, said several of the injured were in serious condition in hospital.
Those killed and injured were employees of the postal centre, Synehubov said on Telegram. Police said the workers did not have time to run to the shelter, because the siren sounded a second before impact.
Reuters could not independently verify the reports. There was no immediate comment from Russia. Both sides deny targeting civilians in the war that Russia launched against its neighbour in February 2022.
Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, was devastated in the early days of Russia's full-scale invasion.
Separately Ukraine is continuing preparations for a peace summit to end the war Zelenskiy said after talks with his Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan.
The next step will be another meeting of national security advisers from several of Ukraine's allies that is scheduled to take place in Malta on October 28-29.
During those talks on the "peace formula," Turkey will also contribute "its authoritative voice and stance," Zelenskiy wrote on social media platform X after his phone consultations with Erdogan.
Zelenskiy has framed this formula, which stipulates a withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine, as the only viable initiative for ending the war.
Peace initiatives from numerous other countries, including China and Brazil, have been largely dismissed by Ukraine.
In August, representatives from about 40 countries attended a major meeting on the Ukraine peace formula in Saudi Arabia.
Russia was not invited.
Ukraine plans to organise a fully-fledged peace summit by the end of the year.
Zelenskiy thanked Erdogan for his staunch support in the fight for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
He did not provide details of the meeting planned in Malta.
However, according to earlier statements from Ukraine, the event is also likely to be about foreign security guarantees against future aggression by Russia.
Ukraine has defended itself with help from its allies for nearly 20 months since the full-scale Russian invasion on February 24, 2022.
The head of the presidential office in Kyiv, Andriy Yermak, said in the summer that Russia should not be involved in negotiations until it withdraws its troops from Ukraine.
The Kremlin rejects this as unrealistic and regards any negotiations without Russia's participation as futile.
with Reuters
