Strikes on Pokrovsk and Kharkiv Oblast hit civilian areas
A look back at the attacks on residential areas in Donetsk and Kharkiv oblasts in the days around 7 August 2023.
What did the strikes of 7 August 2023 show about the pressure on Ukraine's regions away from the main front lines? In Donetsk and Kharkiv oblasts, residential areas bore the brunt.
In Pokrovsk, Donetsk Oblast, a Russian Iskander strike hit residential buildings in what was described as a double tap attack. At least seven people were killed and 88 others injured. The high number of injured points to the scale of the harm done in a single strike on a populated town.
The same day, Russian forces hit private houses in Kruglyakivka, Kharkiv Oblast, with guided aerial bombs. At least two civilians were killed and at least five others injured.
A pattern in the preceding days
The attacks on 7 August followed others. On 5 August 2023, Russia struck a blood transfusion centre in Kupiansk, Kharkiv Oblast, killing two people and injuring four. Taken together, the three incidents across two oblasts fell on homes and a medical facility.
The wider military picture
On 6 August 2023, a missile of the Armed Forces of Ukraine damaged a bridge over the Chonhar Strait connecting the Russian-occupied part of Kherson Oblast with Crimea. The strike was part of the Ukrainian counteroffensive.
For regional authorities and communities, the sequence meant that front-line and near-front oblasts faced casualties among civilians within a few days, in Donetsk and Kharkiv oblasts alike. Rescue services and hospitals in Pokrovsk had to deal with dozens of injured from a single attack.
