Kyiv: Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov has released new estimates of casualties and damage from the Russian war, saying Russian military actions have killed 38 children and wounded more than 70. Overall at least 400 civilian deaths have been recorded and 800 wounded, though “these data are definitely incomplete,” he said in a video address.
It was not immediately possible to verify the figures. He said Russian strikes have destroyed more than 200 Ukrainian schools, 34 hospitals and 1,500 residential buildings. He estimated some 10,000 foreign students, notably from India, China and the Persian Gulf are trapped by the fighting, and described attacks on British and Swiss journalists. He claimed that Ukrainian forces have killed more than 11,000 Russian troops.
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“Russian invaders fire on humanitarian corridors through which civilians are trying to escape,” he said, without saying where. Russian officials did not comment Tuesday and have only acknowledged several hundred deaths among Russian forces.
Meanwhile, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Russia’s armed forces may be deliberately targeting civilians as they try to flee the military assault on Ukraine. Stoltenberg said Tuesday “there are very creditable reports of civilians coming under fire as they try to evacuate. Targeting civilians is a war crime, and it’s totally unacceptable.” He told reporters in Latvia that the humanitarian impact of the almost two-week long war “is devastating.”
“We need real humanitarian corridors that are fully respected,” he said. Asked what NATO can do to help, Stoltenberg said: “We have a responsibility to ensure the conflict does not spread beyond Ukraine.” NATO is boosting its defenses to ensure that members near Russia and Ukraine are not next on Moscow’s target list.
(With agency inputs)
