LAGOS, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- President Volodymyr Zelensky has declared retaliation over the killing of a family of four by Russian artillery fire in the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson.
“Every occupier destroyed, every piece of Russian equipment burned, fire instead of their headquarters and warehouses, the very eloquent smoke on Kerch bridge and more, all this proves that we will not leave any of Russia’s crimes unanswered,” he said in his Telegram video on Sunday.
Authorities say seven people were killed and about 15 others injured In the Kherson region alone.
In the village of Shyroka Balka, Russian artillery killed five people including a family of four; father, mother, a 12-year-old son, and a baby girl only about three weeks old on Sunday morning, according to Ukrainian authorities.
The region was shelled 17 times by Russian army fire during the day, Mr Zelensky said in his address.
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Local military administration announced a regional day of mourning in the region on Monday.
The baby girl’s parents were also killed in the village of Shyroka Balka, Interior Minister, Ihor Klymenko said on Telegram.
Klymenko added that the baby’s 12-year-old brother who was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries, later died in hospital.
In the neighbouring village of Stanislav, two adults were killed, according to the head of Ukraine’s presidential office, Andrii Yermak. “The enemy continues to shell the Kherson area,” he said.
At least 500 children have been killed so far in Ukraine by the Russian military since Moscow invaded the country more than 17 months ago, Ukrainian prosecutors said on Sunday.
Another 1,100 children suffered injuries of varying degrees, the prosecutor’s office in Kyiv said, adding that the actual number is likely to be higher as the authorities continue to investigate casualties in the war zone and areas liberated by Ukraine and in regions occupied by Russian troops.
(NAN)
