Case opened over the shelling strike on Derzhprom (Kharkiv), a UNESCO site

The police have opened proceedings regarding the Russian shelling strike of Kharkiv which damaged the Derzhprom building, a national scale monument of architecture and urban planning which is under UNESCO's temporary enhanced protection, reports the Prosecutor General's Office.

The case was opened for violation of the laws and customs of war (Part 1 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

Derzhprom following the Russian strike on October 28, 2024. Photo by Pavlo Pakhomenko for Nakypilo

According to the police, on October 28, around 21:00, the armed forces of the Russian Federation carried out an airstrike targeting the Shevchenkivsky district of Kharkiv. An munition hit one of the entrances to the Derzhprom building downtown. The building houses offices of several official bodies and structures. A regional hospital, multiple apartment buildings, and a restaurant were also damaged.

Nine people were injured, including a policeman who was on duty. Two of the victims are employees of the regional hospital.

As reported so far, the city was hit by a FAB-500 shell fired from an UMPK bomb kit located in Stroitel, Belgorod region.

On October 28 around 9 p.m., Russian troops targeted the center of Kharkiv city. A shell hit a UNESCO site – the Derzhprom building