Unexploded Russian missile crashes through ceiling of building in Kharkiv

Projectile struck a residential building after attack by Russian forces on the northern Ukrainian city

(Kim Sengupta/Independent)

An extraordinary image shows a missile that crashed through the roof of an apartment in the besieged northern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv but failed to explode.

The projectile apparently struck a residential building after an attack by Russian forces on the city, which has witnessed some of the heaviest fighting of the war.

The photograph was taken by The Independent’s World Affairs Editor, Kim Sengupta, during his reporting from the city.

The wallpapered room complete with drawn curtain is ordinary but for the large missile suspended from the ceiling, and points to the way fighting in Kharkiv and many cities across the country has upended lives and forced more than 4 million to flee the country.

Latest estimates from the UN put the civilian casualties of the five-week-long war at 3,039, including 1,179 killed and 1,860 injured.

The image is not the first to show unexploded weaponry in Ukraine. A photo also taken in Kharkiv earlier this month showed a missile that had crashed into a residential kitchen.