Ukraine updates: Russian missile hits Kharkiv postal centre, 6 dead

A Russian missile hit a postal distribution centre in Ukraine's second-largest city Kharkiv on the evening of Saturday, 21 October, killing six people and injuring 14, Kharkiv region governor Oleh Synehubov said.

Synehubov said several of the injured were in serious condition and receiving hospital treatment.

"This is strictly a civilian site," Synehubov said on Telegram. "The Russians have inflicted more terror on Kharkiv's peaceful population."

Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden has again attempted to explain why Ukraine is important for US national security in a social media post. Biden is calling on Congress to back new aid for Ukraine, as Republicans grow wary of sending more assistance to Kyiv.

"Israel and Ukraine’s success is vital to our national security. History has taught us that when terrorists and dictators don’t pay a price, they cause more death and destruction," he wrote on X.

On Friday, Biden requested a $106 billion (€100 billion) national-security package, including $61 billion in military aid for Ukraine. However, Biden's request comes as the House of Representatives remains in chaos, with Republicans, who hold a slim majority, in their worst meltdown in decades and unable to elect a speaker for the past 18 days.

A growing number of Republicans also oppose providing more security assistance to Ukraine.

Meanwhile, writing on the Telegram messaging app, Synehubov said, "All six dead and 14 injured as a result of the occupiers' attack were employees of the company who were inside the Nova Poshta terminal."

Regional prosecutors, quoted by Ukraine's public broadcaster, said two missiles struck the postal distribution centre.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed his condolences to the families of the victims, calling for a tough response to "Russian terror".

"We must increase pressure on the terrorist state," he wrote on Telegram. "We must confront Russian terror every day on the front lines with our results, we must further strengthen the unity of the world in the fight against terror."