A Russian missile hit a museum building in a Ukrainian city on Tuesday, killing one of its workers and injuring 10 other people, part of a relentless barrage that comes as Ukraine is readying its forces for an expected spring counteroffensive.
The Russian military used S-300 air defense missiles to attack Kupiansk in the Kharkiv region, hitting the museum of local history in the center of the city, The Associated Press said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted a video from the site that shows the ruined building and emergency responders examining the damage.
“The terrorist country is doing everything to destroy us completely," Zelenskyy said. “Our history, our culture, our people. Killing Ukrainians with absolutely barbaric methods.”
Kharkiv regional Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said that three people were hospitalized, seven received minor injuries and two others were believed to remain under the debris.
Emergency responders were working to recover them.
Kupiansk was captured by Russian forces in the earlier stages of the Russian invasion and reclaimed by Ukrainian forces in a surprise counteroffensive in September that saw the Russians driven out of broad swathes of the Kharkiv region.
The Ukrainian military is now preparing for a new massive counteroffensive, relying on the latest supplies of Western battle tanks and other weapons and fresh troops that were trained in the West.
Ukraine’s military intelligence chief, Maj. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov, in an interview with RBC-Ukraine released Monday, described the planned counteroffensive as a “landmark battle in Ukraine’s modern history” that will see the country “reclaim significant areas.”
