Russia renews bombing civilian infrastructure in Ukraine

Residents of Ukraine's second city Kharkiv found themselves under bombardment again on September 21 after Russian missiles struck apartment blocks wounding at least one civilian just as Moscow announced an escalation in its war.

The mayor of Kharkiv, Igor Terekhov, said four projectiles had struck the Kholodnogorsky district overnight, hitting two housing blocks, a building site and some civil infrastructure,  France 24 reports.

In one block, 10 residents were trapped until rescuers could arrive, but officials spoke of only one wounded.

Air raid sirens continued through the morning at the scene, mingling with bells from the gilded domes of the Saint Sofia Church, where Orthodox worshippers gathered to mark the nativity of the Virgin Mary.

"Our area was relatively quiet, and now you see what happened," Lybov Grygorivna, 65, told AFP outside a badly damaged housing block.

Kharkiv, a major hub in the northeast just 40 kilometres (24 miles) south of the Russian border, was attacked on the first day of the February 24 invasion, but its Ukrainian defenders held out and it has since been regularly bombed.

In recent weeks the city has been spared more intense bombardment as a Ukrainian counter-offensive swept Russian land forces from the region. Russia can, however, still launch missiles from its own territory.

Approaching retirement after 45 years working in the neighbourhood municipal services, Grygorivna was loudly directing clean-up crews clambering through the rubble.

"The war is a disaster. It's terrifying. It's painful... It's miserable. How can you stand things like this?" she asked.

"So many have lost their homes and winter is coming. It's terrible. Every night we go to bed scared. But we keep on working. They shoot and we work," she added.

The renewed bombardment of their homes was a bitter blow for many Ukrainians, coming as Russian President Vladimir Putin mobilised reservists in a bid to seize back the initiative in the conflict.