Heartbreaking footage shows blood-soaked children injured in a Russian airstrike that killed 18 people, including two children, in an apartment building on Tuesday, the Ukrainian government said.
The sad pictures were released as Ukraine also accused the invading forces of violating the ceasefire and attacking evacuation routes as more than 2 million people had already fled the war-torn country by Tuesday.
One image showed a tiny child, covered in blood and dust, with bloodied headbands. Other images show some of the 18 dead in the attack in Sumy, the first major city to begin evacuation on Tuesday.
“Last night in Sumy, Russian pilots committed another crime against humanity,” the Ukrainian government said.
“They dropped 500 kg bombs on residential buildings.
“Rescuers are still clearing the wreckage but 18 civilian dead have already been confirmed, including two children,” the government wrote, sharing a candle and prayer symbol emoji.
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In Telegram, the government said that another city in the region, Akhtyrka, was also attacked.
As a result of the air strike of the Russian Federation on a residential building, 18 people were killedParliament of Ukraine
Rescuers make their way through the rubble in search of survivors. Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine/Handout via REUTERS
“The enemy is intensifying the bombardment of urban areas, destroying and damaging residential buildings,” the government shared, saying that enemy troops targeted civilians “to bombard cities into submission.”
The latest bloodshed in Sumy came when Ukrainians boarded buses on Tuesday to flee the besieged eastern city, marking the first evacuation from a Ukrainian city through a humanitarian corridor agreed with Russia after several failed attempts to evacuate residents to safety in recent days.
Residents also fled the city of Irpin, a front-line suburb of Kyiv, where women and children were killed in a brutal shelling on Sunday.
2 million people had already left Ukraine by Tuesday. Chris McGrath/Getty Images
In one of the most devastated cities, Mariupol, some 200,000 people—nearly half the population of 430,000—hoped to flee.
On Tuesday, however, the Foreign Ministry accused Russian forces of still striking one of the agreed shelters.
“The truce is broken! Russian forces are now shelling the humanitarian corridor from Zaporozhye to Mariupol,” the ministry said.
Ukrainians boarded buses to escape from the besieged Sumy. Louise Gouliamaki/AFP via Getty Images
The attacks occurred when “8 trucks + 30 buses” were “ready to deliver humanitarian aid to Mariupol and evacuate civilians to Zaporozhye.
“Pressure on Russia MUST escalate to meet its obligations,” the ministry tweeted.
The evacuation comes amid an unprecedented refugee crisis, according to the UN, the fastest exodus in Europe since World War II.
In Mariupol, approximately 200,000 people hoped to escape. Darko Vojinovic/AP
“Today, the outflow of refugees from Ukraine reaches two million people. Two million,” said Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees. tweeted.
The Russian offensive — now in its second week — has trapped people in cities where food, water and medicine are running out.
While Russian troops have made significant gains in some areas, Ukrainian soldiers and volunteers have so far fortified the capital city of Kyiv with hundreds of roadblocks and barricades meant to thwart a takeover.
Evacuees from Mariupol settle in a refugee camp. Alexander Yermochenko/REUTERS
A continuous rain of shells and rockets hit other communities, including the Kyiv suburb of Bucha, where the mayor reported heavy artillery fire.
“We can’t even collect the bodies, because shelling from heavy weapons does not stop day or night,” said the mayor Anatoly Fedoruk. “Dogs disassemble the bodies on the streets of the city. A nightmare”.
Russian troops also continued their offensive on Nikolaev, opening fire on the Black Sea shipbuilding center with a population of half a million, according to the Ukrainian military. Rescuers said that they were extinguishing fires that arose as a result of rocket attacks on residential areas.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has vowed that Russian forces will face the rebels.Ukrainian/AFP Presidency Press Office via Getty Images
The Ukrainian Defense Forces also participated in operations in Chernihiv in the north of the country, the General Staff said.
However, Ukrainian officials have repeatedly said that Russian troops are demoralized by the lack of success, despite their clear advantage.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told ABC News that “for one Ukrainian soldier we have 10 Russian soldiers, and for one Ukrainian tank we have 50 Russian tanks.”
“For one Ukrainian tank, we have 50 Russian tanks,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said. Irina Rybakova/Press Service of the Ground Forces of Ukraine/Handout material via REUTERS
However, he vowed that even if Russian troops “entered all our cities”, they would meet the rebels.
With mail wires