Russian air strikes hit a residential block in Kharkiv and the main TV tower in the capital Kyiv, Ukrainian authorities have confirmed, as Moscow stepped up attacks as the invasion enters its seventh day despite sanctions and warnings of a humanitarian crisis.
Ukrainian authorities confirmed that about eight people were reported killed in the strike in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second biggest city.
Kharkiv officials disclosed that 10 more people had been killed by Russian shelling on a local government building, and 10 more were found alive under the rubble.
Ukrainian officials said the strike on the TV tower in Kyiv killed five people, knocked out some state broadcasting but left the structure intact.
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It came after Russia warned Kyiv residents living near security infrastructure to leave their homes.
‘This is state terrorism on the part of Russia,’ said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, accusing Moscow of committing a ‘war crime’.
After a call with US President Joe Biden later Tuesday he said on Twitter: ‘We must stop the aggressor as soon as possible.’
Russia has denied targeting civilian infrastructure.
Visiting Estonia on Tuesday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called the bombardment of Kharkiv ‘absolutely sickening’ and reminiscent of massacres of civilians in Sarajevo in the 1990s.
Meanwhile, the International Criminal Court has already opened a war crimes investigation against Russia since Moscow began its invasion on Thursday.
Ukraine says more than 350 civilians, including 14 children, have been killed in the conflict so far.
There was no breakthrough in initial talks between Russia and Ukraine on Monday and Russian forces have pressed further into the country.
The UN estimates that up to four million refugees may need help in the coming months and 12 million more will need assistance within the country.
It has asked for $1.7 billion in urgent aid, while the EU pledged 500 million euros.
Russia has defied international bans, boycotts and sanctions to press ahead with an offensive it says is aimed at defending Ukraine’s Russian speakers and toppling the leadership.
AFRICA TODAY NEWS, NEW YORK
