The Russian President is in Tashkent for a 2 day
visit to meet his counterpart Shafcat Mirziyoyev.
This is the leaders third foreign trip since his reelection
in March.
As per Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov,
the leaders are set to discuss broader cooperation on gas
supplies,
current state of affairs and prospects for further development of
Russian Uzbek relations.
They will also exchange their views on current regional issues.
This visit comes amid increased Russian strikes in Ukraine.
With the latest one in Kharkiv,
which has claimed the lives of at least 14 people.
Take a look at our next report for more details.
The death toll rose on Sunday after a Russian strike
on a crowded DIY hardware store in Kharkiv,
which also injured dozens of people,
Ukrainian officials said on Sunday.
Local officials said at least 120 people were in the
Epicenter hypermarket on Saturday when two guided bombs struck,
causing a massive fire. This surveillance video shows the moment
they hit.
At least ten of the dead were unidentified on Sunday
morning,
they said in a post on the Telegram app.
Ukraine's Interior Minister Ihor Clemenko said 16 people were still
missing after the strike.
It took 16 hours to extinguish the flames,
which raged over an area of more than 15,000 square
yards,
he said. The past week has seen a rise in
Russian strikes on Ukraine's second city after Russian troops stormed
across the border,
opening a new front just north of it.
Andrei Kudinov runs a nearby store and witnessed the strikes.
There was panic everywhere, he says.
It was Saturday lunchtime and it's gardening seasons,
so the place was busy.
President Vladimir Zelensky issued a plea to Ukraine's Western allies
to help boost air defenses to keep cities safe.
A separate early Saturday evening missile strike hit a residential
building in the center of the city of 1.3 million,
wounding at least 25 people.
Russia has bombarded Kharkiv, which lies less than 20 miles
from its border,
throughout the war, having reached the outskirts in a failed
attempt to capture it in 2022.
Rescuers, medics and journalists occasionally had to rush away from
the scene of both strikes and take cover on the
ground for fear of another one,
as has occurred during several recent Russian attacks.
Moscow denies deliberately targeting civilians,
but thousands have been killed and injured in the 27
months since it invaded Ukraine.
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