Russia’s Armed Forces attacked civilians in Kherson, Ukraine, who were queuing up for humanitarian aid, resulting in several casualties, Ukrainian authorities claimed.
The Russian Army used drones for the incident that occurred near a school in the liberated Beryslav district Thursday, an investigation found, according to Kherson’s regional prosecutor’s office.
Nine civilians got injured from the attack, including a minor, the office said in a statement posted on Telegram later that day.
The shelling also reportedly left some civil infrastructure damaged.
All nine injured civilians have been provided with medical assistance, according to the statement.
The total number of victims is still being determined.
A pre-trial investigation has been launched under the procedural leadership of Kerson’s regional leadership into alleged violations of Article 438 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code or the violation of rules of warfare.
Killing, torturing, or taking hostage of non-combatants in war is a violation of the Geneva Conventions.
Meanwhile, the “extensive destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity [and] carried out unlawfully and wantonly,” is considered a war crime under Article 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
Russia’s forces have repeatedly been accused of deliberately attacking civilian targets throughout its invasion of Ukraine.
The Russian government has denied or deflected responsibility in light of such allegations.
A total of 8,101 civilians have died in Ukraine as a result of Russia’s invasion, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Among these fatalities were 488 children, data from a casualty report released Monday showed.
The actual figures are “considerably higher” due to delays in the receipt of information and the need for reports to be verified, the OHCHR said.
Most of the recorded civilian casualties were likely caused “by the use of explosive weapons with wide area effects, including shelling from heavy artillery, multiple launch rocket systems, missiles and air strikes,” according to the U.N. human rights agency.
Russia resorted to launching waves of missile and drone attacks against civilian targets and energy infrastructure in Ukraine starting late last year as it faced setbacks in the war.
Ukraine has also been using drones in the conflict, with some even getting within 60 miles of the Russian capital of Moscow, the Associated Press reported.
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