At least 549 people have been killed during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to figures posted by the United Nations on Thursday.
The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner also said in an update that 957 people have been injured during the conflict.
However, the United Nations notes that the actual number of deaths and injuries during the Russian invasion of Ukraine are likely “considerably higher,” stating that the receipt of information has been delayed.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the invasion into Ukraine on Feb. 24, stating that “our confrontation with these [Ukrainian] forces is inevitable.”
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Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs later said that Putin had launched a “full-scale invasion” of Ukraine.
Russian forces bombed a Ukrainian maternity and children’s hospital in Mariupol on Wednesday, leaving three people dead, including a child, according to officials.
At least 17 others were wounded as a result of the attack, including women waiting to give birth.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the West needs to more stringent sanctions.
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“A children’s hospital. A maternity hospital. How did they threaten the Russian Federation?,” Zelenskyy said. “What kind of country is this, the Russian Federation, which is afraid of hospitals, afraid of maternity hospitals, and destroys them?”
A top regional police official called the attack a “war crime,” stating that there was no justification for the attack.
“Today Russia committed a huge crime,” Volodymir Nikulin said. “It is a war crime without any justification.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report
