Ukraine’s Cities Destroyed by Russian Airstrikes With No End in Site

Since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, many civilian sites in Ukraine have been hit by Russian shelling.

In recent days, children and maternity hospitals in Mariupol and Zhytomyr came under attack, which has been described as a “war crime'' by the global community.

Air strikes in the besieged city of Mariupol resulted in civilian casualties, including children.

A textile factory and a civilian building were destroyed by a Russian air strike in Zhytomyr Tuesday, the town's mayor reported.

On Wednesday, Zhytomyr’s mayor claimed that the town was hit by another air strike that had targeted a thermal power plant and a residential building.

New Russian bombings of residential buildings in Mariupol were reported Thursday. City residents have had no power, water or heat for over a week.

The Russian Defense Ministry denied any Russian air strikes in the area, calling it a “staged provocation.”

The strike in Mariupol took place 14 days after Putin announced the start of military operation in Ukraine with goal of “demilitarizing” and “denazifying” its pro-Western neighbor.

Moscow agreed to open humanitarian corridors for Ukrainian refugees fleeing to Russia.

Kyiv denied the claim that Moscow is trying to help Ukrainians and accused Russian forces of bombing one of the humanitarian corridors.

Amnesty International reported Wednesday that a Russian air strike in the Ukrainian town of Chernihiv killed 47 civilians, most of whom were waiting in line for food.

The organization urged investigation of the Chernihiv bombing as a possible war crime.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and his Russian counterpart met in Turkey in a diplomatic effort to resolve the armed conflict between two countries and other humanitarian issues.

The talks failed to reach any favorable conclusion on potential ceasefire. Ukraine’s Kuleba described the meeting as “difficult,” adding that he would be willing to meet with Lavrov "again in this format if there are prospects or a substantial discussion and for seeking solutions."