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President Zelensky accused Russia of harming children in its invasion of Ukraine.
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He said the attacks show “what Russia has become,” in a defiant speech.
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Russia did not respond to the claim. Some media outlets have also reported the deaths of children.
President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russian forces of killing 16 children and injuring 45 during its invasion of Ukraine.
Zelensky made the claim in a defiant speech posted to Telegram Monday, in which he made an unflattering comparison between Russia’s attack and the resistance shown by Ukraine.
Russian officials have not responded directly to the claim, but have issued blanket denials that they are targeting civilian areas, despite evidence of widespread damage to homes and apartment buildings.
“Now we have shown ourselves to the fullest, and it’s inspiring for everyone,” Zelensky said.
“In every conversation with our partners, I hear sincere respect. Ukrainians have shown the world who we are. And Russia has shown what it has become.
“Just think about it: During the Russian invasion — in just four days — 16 Ukrainian children died as a result of the Russian shelling. Sixteen! 45 children were wounded. Every crime, every shelling that the invaders commit against us, unites us and our partners even more.”
In a press statement later that day, the US State Department said: “Russia’s invasion has damaged and destroyed schools, hospitals, radio stations, and homes, killing and injuring civilians, including children.”
Zelensky’s figure of 16 children’s deaths, attributed Ukraine’s healthcare minister Viktor Liashko, was also circulated on Telegram in the official channel of the Ukrainian parliament on Sunday.
It is not possible to verify the claims, and most of the victims have been named.
International observers have struggled to confirm independent figures of civilian deaths since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, as The Washington Post reported.
But the UN said it had confirmed 64 deaths and at least 240 wounded people as of Monday, according to the Associated Press. It did not specify whether any were children.
Scattered reports are emerging of individual children being killed.
A video by Associated Press photographer Mystslav Chernov showed a six-year-old child’s death on Sunday in Mariupol, a coastal city where fighting has been intense.
The video, which is graphic, was posted to his Instagram page. It showed medics attempting, but failing, to resuscitate the girl. Chernov says she was injured in shelling by Russia forces. One medic working to save the girl was crying.
A doctor looked at one point to address the camera directly and said: “Show this to Putin.”
According to NBC News, a six-year-old boy in Kyiv was killed in a Russian attack on Saturday. The nearby children’s cancer hospital he was also struck by artillery fire, but remained standing, the outlet reported.
The BBC also reported on the deaths of several other children in the conflict, including seven-year-old Alisa Hlans, one of six people who died when her kindergarten, in the town of Okhtyrka, was hit on Friday.
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