Premium
More than 2,400 civilians, including 87 children, have died in Russian attacks since the beginning of the war in the Kharkiv region of north-eastern Ukraine, head of the Kharkiv Police Criminal Investigations Department Serhii Bolvinov told AGERPRES.
According to the Ukrainian official, Kharkiv has come under Russian attack both by land and air, suffering considerable human losses.
"More than 2,400 civilians have been killed - either in cluster bomb blasts, missile strikes, grenade launcher and artillery attacks, but also because of bombs that were dropped on civilians. Sadly, 87 children died as well because of the actions of the Russian army," said Bolvinov.
He pointed out that approximately 700 square kilometers, representing almost 5 percent of the territory of the Kharkiv region, are under Russian occupation, especially settlements in the Kupiansk area.
"It's hard for us to tell what the life of the people in these territories looks like now, because that is not land under Ukrainian control. All these villages and settlements are under occupation, and the occupiers commit numerous abuses. The approximate number of civilian residents in the now occupied territories is about 2,000. Of course, this is a relative figure. People practically no longer live there, because the Russians are de facto destroying the settlements under their control," added the Kharkiv Police official.
The Kharkiv region police are building 16,800 war crime cases for offences committed during the Russian Federation's war against Ukraine. So far, 90 people have been put on trial for war crimes.
