The human cost of war is in Ukraine is mounting but some of the most distressing stories have been those involving children.
Ukraine’s general prosecutor said 90 boys and girls had been killed since the invasion started three weeks ago.
First lady Olena Zelenska condemned the deaths of children in an open letter, highlighting some of the youngest victims of the war so far.
The 44-year-old mother wrote: “When Russia says that it is ‘not waging war against civilians, I call out the names of these murdered children first.”
And a Russian attack on a maternity hospital, which killed three people including a child, has been condemned as ‘an atrocity’ by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and US vice president Kamala Harris.
Below we look at just some of the children killed so far in Putin’s deadly invasion.
Alisa, 7, saw her grandfather die trying to protect her
Seven-year-old Alisa Hlans was killed by a ‘cluster bomb attack’ that fell onto her school in Sumy Oblast, Ukraine.
Her grandfather died trying to shield Alisa from the blast with his body. The little girl reportedly died of her injuries a day after the attack, and was just three months from her eighth birthday.
She was one of a number of children killed in the war that were highlighted in Ms Zelenska’s Instagram post.
The Russian strike hit seven points on or near the building according to Amnesty, four of which were on the roof of the preschool.
A witness told the NGO: “You see, everyone covered with blood, everything. Look at it…[expletive] it kills me the fact that it’s a kindergarten.”
In total six people were killed in the attack, and at least one other child was injured.
Polina, 10, was the first child victim of the war to be identified
Pink-haired Polina was only 10-years-old when she was killed by Russian saboteurs as she and her family tried to escape from war-torn Kyiv.
Russian troops reportedly opened fire on the family’s car on the third day of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
The girl was taken to Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital but died from her injuries.
Polina’s parents Anton Kudrin and Svetlana Zapadynskaya, also died in the attack, while two of her siblings were left fighting for life.
Semyon, 5, died after three days fighting for his life
Five-year-old Semyon was Polina’s younger brother, and was also shot by the Russian troops while the family were attempting to flee Ukraine’s capital.
While Polina died soon after the attack, the boy and his 13-year-old Sofia were both left fighting for their lives in hospital.
Sadly, Semyon died after being in critical condition for 72 hours in Kyiv, according to a family friend.
A family friend Tatyana Zolotina, described the children as “sweet, funny and kind”.
She told the i: “Only one girl remains… we will never forgive Russia and the Russians for their death.”
Anastasia, 10, was killed by ‘drunk Russian soldiers’
Anastasia Stoluk was shot by Russian soldiers who were blasting houses at random in a village near Kyiv, The Times reports.
The 10-year-old died immediately in front of her uncle who was taken to hospital for treatment after the attack.
Her cousin Anya Stoluk, 18, said she died in the village of Shybene, around 40 miles away from Ukraine’s capital, on February 28 and she was buried in her back garden because Russian troops would not let Anastasia’s mother visit the cemetery.
Ms Stoluk’s adoptive mother, 40-year-old Vera Dmitrienko, told The Times the Russian soldiers “looted all the stores, of course they got a lot of alcohol… and got drunk and started shooting”.
Baby Kirill rushed to hospital by desperate father but couldn’t be saved
One of the youngest to fall victim of the war, Kirill was an 18-month-baby who died after Russian shelling battered the port city of Mariupol.
Distressing images show the child’s father running to the hospital with Kirill in his hands, desperate to try and save him.
Kirill’s mother Marina Yatsko and her boyfriend Fedor were later seen embracing their son’s lifeless body laid out on a stretcher.
Hundreds of thousands are suffering in besieged city of Mariupol where residents have been sheltering from attacks without water or power for over a week.
Alise, 9, died in the street with her mother and brother
Nine year-old Alise was leaving Irpin, on the outskirts of Kyiv, when Russian shelling rained down on her family.
The attack also killed her 18-year-old brother Nikita and their mother Tatyana. Their father was wounded but survived the attack.
They have been trying to leave through a ‘humanitarian corridor’ which was meant to be a safe exit for refugees, but instead they were pictured lying dead on the roadside surrounded by their belongings.
In an emotional tribute to his wife and children, Sergey Perebeynos wrote on Facebook: “Forgive me, I didn’t cover you.”
“He took them all,” he added. “Tanya couldn’t make it. What is this all for? What’s next?”
Iliya, 16, was killed playing football when bombs hit a school
Iliya was playing football in a field near a school when Russian bombs fell, killing the 16-year-old.
His father, named only as Serhii, was photographed weeping as he clutched his son’s body in makeshift hospital in Mariupol.
Mariupol’s deputy mayor, Sergei Orlob told the BBC that “most of the schools, hospitals, kindergartens, living spaces” are damaged as he said Kremlin was attacking the city indiscriminately.”
Baby dies with mother after maternity hospital hit by airstrike
A baby delivered via caesarean section after a pregnant woman was injured in the Russian attack on Mariupol maternity hospital has died.
The pregnant mother was photographed in the aftermath of the air strike, being rushed to hospital on a stretcher.
A surgeon said on Saturday that despite his efforts both the mother and child had died.
Timur Martin, who had given the woman medical treatment, said that her pelvis had been crushed and her hip detached during the airstrike.
The baby was delivered via caesarean section but it showed “no signs of life.”
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