Kharkiv, March 1: A huge explosion at the city administration building in Kharkiv is being reported. Russian sources have claimed that the notorious Azov battalion had set up a recruiting station there.

 

 

 

Although later videos have shown that the explosion seems not to have hit the administration building itself. Russian sources have claimed that this was going to be a recruiting station for Far-Right, Neo-Nazi Azov battalion.

 

 

 

Content containing the Azov battalion asking people to gather at the city square has emerged on social media.

This alleged Azov recruiting station was to open up at 10 am, the square was hit at 8 am. It was a warning, not a massacre, Russian sources have claimed. There have been no authentic reports of the number of civilians being hurt in the strike yet.

 

 

 

The administration building was militarized, the headquarters of the ukrainian forces in kharkiv region was set up there, in addition to the headquarters of the local territorial defence battalion, according to Russian claims. Footage of the blast was posted to Twitter around 7:30pm NZ time. A journalist working in Ukraine, Christopher Miller, identified the building as, "Kharkiv’s historic government headquarters in the heart of the city that sits on the edge of Freedom Square".

 

 

Miller says he was outside the building enjoying a coffee just last week with a friend. Another video of the aftermath shows the destruction wrought by the attack. According to the Guardian, the Ukraine military has stated the strike was an attempt to kill Kharkiv’s governor and his team leading the defence of the city.