Ukraine: Civilians killed trying to flee Russian attacks on capital

Kyiv, Ukraine
CNN
—  

The civilian death toll is rising in Ukraine after a blast struck an evacuation crossing point in a Kyiv suburb as more people try to flee the Russian invasion.

Two mortar or artillery shells hit the checkpoint in the suburb of Irpin, northwest of Kyiv, Ukrainian authorities said. Irpin Mayor Oleksandr Markushyn said eight civilians have been killed across the district, and social media video showed extensive destruction.

International media filming at the checkpoint reported that a shell landed as a stream of civilians was coming through.

“A family died,” Markushyn said in a statement. “In front of my eyes, two small children and two adults died.”

Photographs from the Associated Press showed bodies on the ground covered by sheets, with suitcases standing upright nearby.

The Kyiv Regional Military Administration appealed to international organizations for help in resolving a growing humanitarian crisis.

“Thousands of people found themselves in isolation, because of direct hostilities, and in some places for 5-6 days they survive without electricity, water, food, medical help and means of subsistence. They are in direct danger,” it said.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said Sunday that more than 360 civilians had been killed in Ukraine since Russia’s invasion began, while acknowledging that the real figure is likely “considerably higher.” CNN cannot independently verify the casualty numbers. The UN also reports more than 1.5 million refugees have fled Ukraine since February 24.

In the country’s southeast, hopes that a second attempt to open up safe evacuation routes for civilians in Mariupol and Volnovakha might succeed – after a first effort failed on Saturday – were dashed within hours.

The governor of the Donetsk region, Pavlo Kyrylenko, said on Facebook on Sunday that the planned “evacuation convoy with local residents was never able to leave Mariupol today: the Russians began to regroup their forces and heavy shelling of the city. It is extremely dangerous to evacuate people in such conditions.”

Kyrylenko added that a convoy carrying humanitarian aid from the central city of Zaporizhzhia, three hours from Mariupol, “has not yet reached its destination and is currently on its way.”

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) also said Sunday’s planned evacuation in Mariupol had failed.

“Today, our team began opening up the evacuation route from Mariupol before hostilities resumed. We remain in Mariupol and are ready to help facilitate further attempts – if the parties reach an agreement, which is for them alone to implement and respect,” the ICRC said on Twitter.

“People in Mariupol and in other places across #Ukraine are living in desperate situations. They must be protected at all times. They are not a target. People urgently need water, food, shelter. The basics of life. We need…