Several journalists injured after a Russian attack on a hotel in Kharkiv

A Russian missile attack has injured at least 13, including Turkish journalists, at a hotel in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city.

This attack, in which S-300 missiles have been used, is the second against a civilian target in the Ukrainian town in the last three days. Kharkiv police chief Volodymyr Tymoshko explained that one of the two missiles hit an area near the hotel, used by international journalists covering the war. “The military never stayed in this hotel and almost everyone in Kharkiv knows it. It was used by journalists,” Tymoshko said in statements reported by The Independent.

Some witnesses and survivors claim that they did not hear any aerial sirens before the impact. This is because Russia launches the missiles from the bordering Belgorod Oblast near Kharkiv, so the approach time of the missiles is a few minutes and the Ukrainian air defenses protecting the city cannot repel such attacks.

It is not the first time that Russia attacks hotels in Kharkiv where journalists stay. At the end of last December, Russian forces launched missiles at another hotel in the city center, wounding 17 civilians, including a minor and a journalist from the United Kingdom.

On the other hand, in addition to the hotel where international reporters were staying, the Russian attack also hit residential buildings, a municipal building and a single-family home, as well as a car dealership and a production plant, according to local authorities.

Russia continues with its military offensive against Ukraine, which will be two years old next February, while Kiev continues to ask its international partners for more weapons to confront the invasion. In this sense, and to overcome international dependence in this regard, President Volodimir Zelensky promised during his New Year's speech that Ukraine will increase arms production during 2024.

“This year the enemy will feel the wrath of domestic production,” Zelensky assured, highlighting that at least one million drones would be built.

The Ukrainian leader also continues to pressure NATO so that his country finally obtains membership of the Alliance at the 2024 summit, a year that will be “decisive” for Ukraine and its allies, according to Zelensky during his recent trip to Lithuania that will take him also to Estonia and Latvia, nations that he described as “reliable friends and principled partners.”

The tour of the former Soviet republics is already bearing fruit. At the moment, the Lithuanian government has already approved a long-term military assistance package worth 200 million euros to kyiv.