Putin turning Ukraine’s second largest city Kharkiv into ‘next Aleppo’ wasteland unless West steps in to stop him

UKRAINE'S second largest city is in danger of becoming a "second Aleppo" as constant waves of Russian airstrikes turn it into a wasteland.

Kharkiv's mayor Ihor Terekhov has begged for the West to step in and accused Vladimir Putin of terrorising its 1.3million residents and plunging the city into darkness.

Kharkiv, located on the eastern front only 30 miles from the Russian border, is increasingly becoming the target of Russia's new offensive.

Everyday its residents live through an airborne terror as analysts say Putin is hellbent on depopulating the city.

Russian attacks on Kharkiv - liberated after six months of Moscow's occupation in September 2022 - have been scaling up dramatically in previous weeks, killing dozens and leaving thousands without electricity.

Terekhov said that unless the West steps up and delivers crucial air defence systems - Kharkiv could suffer the same fate as the Syrian city of Aleppo, which heavy Russian bombing helped to decimate a decade ago.

The £50billion US military aid package still blocked in Congress is of "critical importance for us," he told .

“We need that support to prevent Kharkiv being a second Aleppo.”

But the stalling of Western military aid has had devastating effects on the battlefield - and that is being felt deeply in Kharkiv.

On March 22, Russian attacks destroyed the city's two main power plants and a network of substations, plunging the city into darkness.

Last week, power went out again across the city after the latest bombing raid.

Hospitals, businesses and homeowners are desperately trying to get their hands on generators, while school children study in darkness and underground bunkers.

Terekhov previously told The Sun today that half the city’s 200 schools had already been destroyed by the war.

Some 150,000 of the residents have been made homeless by Russia’s bombardments and half the city’s hospitals and medical facilities have been hit.