Russian forces bombed the Ukrainian capital’s iconic TV tower on Tuesday, temporarily knocking Ukrainian TV off the air, the Wall St. Journal reports. The move followed a warning from the Russian Defense Ministry that it would strike Ukrainian intelligence and communications facilities in Kyiv that were being used for what it called “information attacks.”
A tweet from the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense showed a picture of the strike, with the message (according to Twitter’s translation): “Getting into the hardware of the broadcaster on the TV tower. For a while, the channels will not work. In the near future, the backup broadcast of some channels will be included. The enemy can spread fakes in order to destabilize the situation. You know, Ukraine is fighting and enduring!”
The tower was erected in 1973 and is next to the Babyn Yar Holocaust memorial site, which was also damaged in the blast, according to NPR. Officials for the memorial had issued a statement earlier condemning Russian aggression.
Freedom Square in Kharkiv was hit by a missile at 8:01 a.m. local time, killing seven and injuring 24, according to Ukraine’s national emergency service. Additional Russian airstrikes targeted the city’s residential neighborhoods, killing more than 10 civilians, local authorities said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the attack, which he said killed several children.
“A missile targeting the central square of a city is open, undisguised terrorism. It’s terrorism that aims to break us, to break our resistance,” Zelenskyy said.