Five Injured as Russian Forces Attack Izium With Drones

Five people were injured in Izium, a city in Ukraine's Kharkiv region, after Russian forces carried out a drone attack on Saturday morning, according to a report from Ukrinform.

The report said the attack damaged premises belonging to two enterprises as well as residential buildings in the city. Details on the severity of the five reported injuries, and whether any of the victims required hospitalization, were not fully specified.

Izium, located in the Kharkiv region, was occupied by Russian forces for several months in 2022 before Ukrainian troops recaptured it during a rapid counteroffensive later that year. The city has remained vulnerable to periodic strikes given its proximity to front-line areas in the region, and Kharkiv region more broadly has continued to experience regular attacks throughout the war.

Drone strikes have become an increasingly prominent feature of the conflict, used by both Russian and Ukrainian forces to target a range of infrastructure, military positions and, as in this case, residential and commercial areas. Ukrainian officials have repeatedly said such strikes on populated areas cause civilian harm and infrastructure damage far from active front lines.

Local authorities in Izium were assessing the damage to the affected enterprises and residential buildings following the attack. It was not immediately clear whether the enterprises targeted had any specific military or industrial significance, or whether the strike was considered to have hit a civilian area.

Russian officials had not issued comment on the specific strike at the time of this report.