Russian strike in Kharkiv killed 1, injured 6; reports of injured children at kindergarten were not confirmed; 50 children evacuated; nationwide attacks with rockets and UAVs also reported
Executive summary
Ukrainian and independent reporting show a wave of Russian strikes across multiple oblasts on Dec. 6–8, 2025 that caused widespread energy outages and infrastructure damage and included strikes in Kharkiv Oblast that killed at least one civilian and injured several others; Ukraine reported 704 missiles and drones in the Dec. 5–6 barrage [1]. Local Kharkiv reporting and prosecutors say a strike killed one person in Staryi Saltiv / Podoly-area attacks and injured others, while reports that children were wounded at a kindergarten in Kharkiv were not confirmed in the cited sources; about 50 children were evacuated from the region after strikes and the Pechenihy dam was hit, threatening water and road links [2] [3] [4] [5] [1].
1. What the sources say about the Kharkiv toll and the kindergarten reports
The Institute for the Study of War and local Ukrainian prosecutors and police record strikes in Kharkiv Oblast during the Dec. 6–8 sequence that produced civilian casualties: one civilian death was reported from strikes near Podoly (east of Kupyansk) and another fatality was reported in Staryi Saltiv; multiple injuries are mentioned but the sources do not confirm wounded children at a Kharkiv kindergarten. ISW and Kharkiv police reporting note at least one killed and injured civilians in the region, but the specific claim of kindergarten children wounded is not corroborated in the cited material [2] [3] [1]. Available sources do not mention confirmed child injuries at a named Kharkiv kindergarten.
2. The scale of the overall attacks: missiles, drones and energy hits
Ukrainian officials reported a mass combined missile and drone campaign overnight on Dec. 5–6; ISW cites a figure of 704 missiles and drones launched against Ukraine during that period and catalogs strikes across Kyiv, Odesa, Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Mykolaiv oblasts, causing power outages and rolling blackouts [1]. Reporting from Kyivindependent and ISW documents extensive damage to generation, transmission and distribution facilities and damage to DTEK plants, which Kyiv said reduced power to many consumers [6] [1].
3. Infrastructure damage in Kharkiv: dam, roads and logistics
Local authorities reported a strike on the Pechenihy (Pecheneg) reservoir dam on Dec. 7 that halted traffic across a key roadway and threatened Kharkiv-area water supplies and logistics; regional officials and outlets described services assessing the damage and noted the dam carries a road used toward Vovchansk and Kupyansk [4] [5]. Independent reporting framed the attack as aimed at disrupting Ukrainian lines of communication and logistics in the Vovchansk–Kupyansk directions [5] [7].
4. Military context: ground pressure and rear-area targeting
ISW analysts document Russian air and artillery activity northeast of Kharkiv City — including in Vovchansk, Staryi Saltiv, Lyman and surrounds — and assess Russia is striking operational rear targets (roads, bridges, energy) to degrade Ukrainian sustainment and prepare for offensive operations [7] [8]. ISW also reports Russian use of glide bombs and thermobaric and Iskander strikes to support ground efforts, while noting that in many sectors Russian forces continued offensive operations without confirmed advances [7] [2] [9].
5. Evacuations and civilian protection: children moved but details limited
Multiple outlets and local posts reference evacuations and movements of civilians, including children; the sources mention about 50 children were evacuated from the area after strikes near the Pechenihy reservoir and in Kharkiv-adjacent communities, but the reporting does not provide verified counts of wounded children or link those injuries to a specific kindergarten [4] [5]. Available sources do not establish that children at a particular kindergarten were injured.
6. Competing narratives and verification limits
ISW and Ukrainian local authorities present consistent claims of strikes, casualties and infrastructure damage; Russian milbloggers’ claims of territorial advances are flagged as unconfirmed and sometimes contradicted by geolocated evidence cited by analysts [1] [7]. The sources include unconfirmed Russian milblogger claims about advances in Vovchansk and Lyman, which ISW treats cautiously [1]. Where specific civilian casualty claims (e.g., kindergarten injuries) appear in social media or local alarm, the available, cited reporting does not corroborate them, and independent verification remains absent [2] [4].
7. What remains unclear and should be checked next
The precise incident timeline for the Kharkiv-area casualty and which munition types hit specific civilian sites are described in broad strokes but not fully pinned down in the provided material; confirmation of child injuries at a named kindergarten is not present in the sources and requires a direct prosecutor’s statement, hospital records, or independent on-the-ground verification [2] [3]. For authoritative casualty and damage tallies, consult Kharkiv Oblast prosecutor briefs, ministry of health updates, or independent field reporting that explicitly corroborates any claims about wounded children.
Limitations: this analysis uses only the provided sources and therefore does not include any later or external confirmations beyond them; I cite ISW, regional news outlets and local official statements as they appear in those sources [1] [2] [4] [5] [6].