Russia bombs Ukrainian village market killing two women and injuring seven including 10-year-old girl as rescuers pull victims from rubble

• Harrowing footage emerged following the strike on Shevchenkove near Kharkiv
• Rescuers were seen trying to pull bodies from the rubble of a market square
• It comes as the Kremlin warned deliveries of Western weapons to Ukraine would only ‘deepen the suffering of the Ukrainian people’

A shocking Russian missile attack on a village market in eastern Ukraine this morning left two women dead and several others injured, including a 10-year-old girl. 

Harrowing footage from the scene of the strike in Shevchenkove, 50 miles southeast of the regional capital Kharkiv, showed a square littered with debris as rescue workers hurriedly picked their way through the ruins in search of survivors.

One blood-covered woman was seen lying prone amid the rubble waiting for help, with rescuers having placed a dirt-covered cushion under her head as they tended to more serious cases.

Moments later other rescuers were seen moving what appeared to be a corpse before an injured child was carried out of the rubble, crimson smeared across her face.

A building burns at a site of a market hit by Russian missiles, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in the town of Shevchenkove

Rescuers uncover a victim from the rubble in the aftermath of an attack on a local market in Shevchenkove village, Kharkiv region, amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in this image released January 9, 2023

A photograph posted online by the Ukrainian president’s office showed rescuers trying to pull a woman free of the dirt and debris following the missile attack

An injured child is carried in the aftermath of a Russian missile attack on a local market in Shevchenkove village, Kharkiv region, amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in this image released January 9, 2023

A photograph posted online by the Ukrainian president’s office showed rescuers trying to pull a woman in a thick winter coat out of the debris. Her head and arms poked out from under the rubble but it was not clear whether she was alive. 

Other footage posted by Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne on the Telegram messaging app showed burning wreckage and a large crater in the centre of Shevchenkove.

‘The Russian army committed another act of terror against the civilian population and a child was wounded, two women were killed,’ the regional prosecutor’s office said.

Criticising Russia over the attack, Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian presidential administration, wrote on Telegram: ‘Common terrorists.’ 

Oleh Synehubov, governor of the Kharkiv region, wrote on Telegram: ‘According to confirmed information, unfortunately a 60-year-old woman died. 

‘All other victims were hospitalised. Doctors are helping them. Rescuer workers continue to clear the debris.’

Suspilne quoted a local official as saying at least three pavilions were destroyed in the attack and that a shopping centre was damaged, but that Monday was not a market day.

The village succumbed to Russian occupation days after Vladimir Putin ordered his tanks over the border on February 24, 2022, but was liberated by Ukrainian forces in September.

Rescuers look through the rubble in the aftermath of an attack on a local market in Shevchenkove village, Kharkiv region

A firefighter works at a site of a market hit by Russian missiles, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in the town of Shevchenkove

Ukrainian service members pose for a photo in the recently liberated settlement of Shevchenkove, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine, in this handout picture released September 10, 2022

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has urged Western powers to provide technology and equipment in the fight against Russian invasion

Just hours after the brutal attack on Ukrainian civilians, the Kremlin on Monday delivered an ominous statement, claiming that new deliveries of Western weapons to Kyiv would only ‘deepen the suffering of the Ukrainian people’ and would not change the course of the conflict.

‘This supply will not be able to change anything’, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in a daily briefing.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, whose military launched a series of successful counterattacks and recaptured significant swathes of territory from the occupiers in the months before New Year, has asked Western allies for heavier weapons and air defences as he seeks to tip the balance of the 10-month long conflict in its favour.

The US, UK and EU have been reluctant to supply Ukraine with its most advanced heavy weaponry, but France, Germany and the US all agreed last week to send several of their respective infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) – the AMX-10, the Marder and the Bradley.

These vehicles are not considered tanks because of their lack of armour and weaponry, but the machinery will undoubtedly provide the Ukrainian infantry with enhanced firepower and manoeuverability they have lacked thus far.

The US Bradley – which served with distinction in the 1991 Gulf War – is widely regarded as the most advanced IFV, boasting a 25mm cannon fired from a chain gun and a pod on the side – effective at wiping out Russian battle tanks.

America’s provision of 50 Bradleys comes as part of a near $3 billion military aid package announced by President Joe Biden last week.

The US has pledged to send around 50 Bradley tanks to Ukraine. The vehicles were highly effective during the Gulf War in 1991

The German Marder was described as ‘respectable but old’ with around 40 understood to be promised to Ukraine

The AMX-10 IFV supplied by France is capable of great speed and has been described as ideal for a ‘reconnaissance echelon or rapid reaction force’

Ever since Putin’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24 last year, President Volodymyr Zelensky has successfully lobbied Western allies for technology to outmatch the invaders

France has not confirmed the number of AMX-10s it will send, while German newspaper Der Spiegel reported about 40 Marders – the equivalent of a battalion – are likely to be sent.

Germany also announced it would provide Ukraine with the sought-after Patriot surface-to-air missile (SAM) defence system, which should prove instrumental in warding off Russian rocket attacks and aerial assaults. 

The head of the Ukrainian military, Valery Zaluzhny, says he needs 300 tanks, 600 to 700 infantry fighting vehicles and 500 howitzers to push Russia back to its lines before the invasion. 

Writing for the Guardian, professor of defence studies at Kings College London Michael Clarke said: ‘Kyiv still has some way to go before it has enough equipment and troops to conduct the sort of offensive that will throw Russian forces out of most, or all, its territory. 

‘It needs a lot more of what it already has – and then more overtly offensive weapon systems, including heavier armoured forces, more attack aircraft and more drones and missiles.’

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