Amid the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Liudmyla Denisova on Thursday informed that at least 71 children have been killed and more than 100 have been injured in the war. According to a report by Ukraine National News Agency, Ukrinform, Denisova has posted the updated data on Telegram on Thursday morning. “As of 11:00, March 10, 2022, since the beginning of the Russian Federation’s invasion of Ukraine, 71 children have been killed and more than 100 children have been injured,” she wrote on Telegram.
While elaborating on the casualties, she said a Russian missile attack had hit a 7-storey building in the Zhytomyr region, resulting in the killing of five people including three children (a five-year-old girl and two children born in 2021). A 16-year-old boy was also killed in the shelling of a market in the village of Zhukovskoho, Kharkiv region. According to Denisova, a missile had hit a house in the village of Slobozhanske, Izium. In the attack, she said at least four people died under the rubble, of which two were women while two were children. In addition, in the town of Irpin, a 10-year-old girl was severely wounded and is currently in hospital in serious condition, she noted.
Human Rights Commissioner urges NATO to shut airspace over Ukraine
Further, she appealed the NATO and other Western countries to assist Ukraine in countering the Russian aggression against Kyiv. She also urged NATO to close the sky over Ukraine in order to stop the Russian Air Force from attacking the civilians through missiles and warplanes. “Over the Russian military invasion of Ukraine, the atrocities of Russian militants, the violation of all Geneva conventions, Ukraine pays an exorbitant price – the lives of its children, the future of our people. I insist, NATO countries, help stop Russian terrorism – close the sky over Ukraine,” Ukrinform quoted the human rights commissioner as saying.
It is worth mentioning Russia initiated a full-fledged war against Ukraine nearly two days after Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree recognizing the independence of breakaway regions Donetsk and Luhansk. Putin’s action came despite the West’s repetitive warning and speculations about his ill-intention to invade Ukraine. Until then, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had called his Russian counterpart to meet him, seeking a resolution to avert the war. However, on February 24, the Russian troops started a military operation against Ukraine, resulting in the heavy shelling and killing of more than 549 Ukrainian civilians.