Russian attack kills 49 in northeast Ukraine, officials say

A Russian attack killed at least 49 people, including a six-year-old boy, in the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine on Thursday, Ukrainian officials said.

Kharkiv region governor Oleh Synehubov said a cafe and a shop were attacked in the village of Hroza in the Kupyansk district and that many civilians were there at the time.

"The rescuers continue to work on the site," Synehubov said on the Telegram messaging app.

Officials posted footage of rescue workers clambering through smouldering rubble. Bodies lay alongside slabs of concrete and twisted metal.

It was not immediately clear whether Russian forces, who invaded Ukraine 19 months ago, shelled the village or fired a missile.

President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was attending a summit with European leaders in Spain, said "the Russian terror should be stopped".

"Now we are talking with European leaders, in particular, about strengthening our air defence, about strengthening our soldiers, about giving our country protection from terror," he said on Telegram.

Reuters