prismislThere are about two million Ukrainian refugees scattered across Europe and other parts of the world, some of whom may have been seen in the eyes of the refugees as war crimes. The refugees said Russian security forces were firing and killing civilians.
The number of people fleeing Ukraine is increasing due to the attack by the Russian army. Among those fleeing Ukraine is Ihor Dikov, who somehow managed to save his life by crossing the Irpin River via a makeshift wooden bridge outside Kyiv. The pucca bridge has been blown up by the Ukrainian army to stop Russian troops.
Describing the situation as appalling, Dikov said that while crossing the border, he heard gunshots and saw dead bodies lying on the roadside. “The Russians promised to provide the corridor (humanitarian), but did not follow through,” Dikov said. They were killing civilians by firing.” Dikov said that this was undeniably true and he himself was a witness to it. Dikov is not alone, with many other refugees seeing death with their own eyes.
Thousands of people (soldiers and civilians) are said to have been killed in Ukraine since the attack by Russian forces two weeks ago. Officials said 1,200 civilians had been killed in the coastal city of Mariupol. Three of these people died as a result of the bombing of the children’s hospital.
The prosecutor’s office in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, said 282 civilians were killed there, including many children. The UN human rights office said on Wednesday it had recorded 516 civilian deaths, including 37 children, in the two weeks since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The actual death toll is believed to be much higher.
Meanwhile some refugees have witnessed death for themselves. Their testimony will prove crucial in holding Russia accountable for targeting civilians and civilian structures such as hospitals and homes. Prosecutors for the International Criminal Court last week launched an investigation that could target senior officials believed to be responsible for war crimes.
Meanwhile, some countries have relaxed rules for refugees. Britain said that from Tuesday, Ukrainian residents with passports will no longer have to go to a visa application center to provide fingerprints. Anna Potapola, a mother of two who arrived in Poland from Ukraine, said, “I am scared, when leaving Ukraine, my children asked me if we would survive?”