Thousands of Ukrainian families stuck at border with Poland 4:01
Kyiv (CNN) —
Russia's relentless shelling of residential areas across Ukraine has so far forced more than a million refugees to flee the country, according to the United Nations, as fierce fighting continues into its second week.
In the capital Kyiv, residents were awakened in the early hours of Thursday morning by at least one large explosion in the southwest of the city, following a day of heavy shelling.
To the south, the mayor of the strategically important Black Sea city of Kherson indicated that Russian forces had taken control, though the claims remain disputed.
And in the port city of Mariupol, residents are without electricity and water, according to the mayor, as Russian troops intensify their offensive.
The Ukrainian resistance in the country's second largest city, Kharkiv, also continues to hold out, as Russian attacks hit at least three schools and damaged a cathedral and shops on Wednesday, according to videos and photos posted on social media, geolocated and verified. by CNN.
Russia-Ukraine War: Breaking News and Negotiations and Invasion
With the scale of the humanitarian disaster becoming more apparent, the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced on Wednesday that it had opened an immediate active investigation into possible war crimes committed by Russian forces in Ukraine.
ICC Prosecutor Karim AA Khan said in a statement on Wednesday that his office had "already found a reasonable basis to believe that crimes within the Court's jurisdiction had been committed, and had identified potential cases that would be admissible." .
advertising
The move comes as the United States and other Western officials have warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin may be changing his strategy to attack more cities and civilian infrastructure with heavy weapons and potentially "tens of thousands" of troops.
The Russian government has "strongly" rejected accusations that it has committed war crimes in Ukraine.
On Wednesday, the UK said it was "gravely concerned" about "reports of the use of cluster munitions" by Russia during its ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
And on the same day, the US ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said that Russia was moving prohibited weapons into Ukraine.
Chef José Andrés distributes food to people fleeing Ukraine 1:20
"We have seen videos of Russian forces moving exceptionally lethal weaponry into Ukraine, which has no place on the battlefield. That includes cluster munitions and vacuum bombs, which are prohibited by the Geneva Convention," he said.
Vacuum bombs, or thermobaric bombs, are filled with high-temperature, high-pressure explosives and, when detonated, suck in oxygen from the surrounding air to generate a powerful blast and large pressure wave that can have enormous destructive effects.
There is no evidence that thermobaric weapons were used in the conflict in Ukraine, although CNN did see the launch of multiple Russian thermobaric rockets south of Belgorod, Russia, on February 26.
Battle for the southern cities to create a land corridor
The Russian advance in southern Ukraine shows the beginning of a possible land bridge that could link the port city of Odessa, via Kherson and Mariupol, with pro-Moscow separatist-controlled territories in the east.
“It is quite clear that Putin is pushing for a land corridor to Crimea.
I mean it's an obvious target," former NATO Deputy Supreme Commander for Europe Richard Shirreff told CNN.
ANALYSIS |
Fears grow of a horrific Russian escalation in Ukraine
He said he feared the push could cause a humanitarian catastrophe as civilian deaths mount and cities turn to ruin.
The mayor of the strategic city of Kherson, Ihor Kolykhaiev, said on Wednesday that the Ukrainian army is no longer in the city and that its inhabitants must now comply with the instructions of "armed people who came to the city administration", indicating that the city has now fallen under Russian control.
The announcement on the mayor's Facebook page on Wednesday night follows several days of pressure on Kherson by Russian forces that had surrounded the city.
However, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby objected, suggesting that while Russian forces claimed to have taken Kherson, the United States was in no position to confirm this in any way.
"It seems to us that the Ukrainians are certainly fighting over that city," Kirby added.
Videos verified by CNN show residents defiantly waving the Ukrainian flag in front of what appear to be Russian troops and tanks.
In one video, a Russian soldier appears to be holding Ukrainian flags as he stands near other troops and tanks in front of the Kherson Regional Administration building.
Then a group of civilians appear to walk towards him to claim the flags.
How much will it cost to help Ukrainians for the war?
0:42
Kherson is a strategically important city on an inlet of the Black Sea with a population of nearly 300,000.
If Kherson is now under Russian control, it would be a major turning point for the invading army - the first major city seized.
Ukraine earlier Wednesday disputed Russian claims of control saying Ukrainian forces were still fighting in parts of the city.
The new post said that the Ukrainian forces had left.
And fighting continued around the southern city of Mariupol, a key part of that potential corridor, on Wednesday, with residents reporting heavy shelling that left scores injured.
Vadym Boychenko, mayor of Mariupol, said the number of injured civilians was "growing every day" as Russian and Russian-backed separatist forces surrounded the city of some 400,000 people on three sides.
Boychenko said critical infrastructure has been compromised in the city and said citizens are without water and electricity and utilities will work to restore it on Thursday.
He called all the citizens of Mariupol "great heroes".
Warnings of a humanitarian catastrophe by refugees
It is unclear exactly how many Ukrainian civilians have been killed during the war, but the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission estimates that there have been 750 civilian casualties.
CNN cannot independently verify these numbers, but more casualties are feared as Russian attacks hit built-up areas.
Many have chosen not to stay to risk being caught up in the violence.
Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said a million people had fled from Ukraine to neighboring countries in the week since the invasion began.
"For many millions more, inside Ukraine, it is time for the guns to be silenced, so that life-saving humanitarian assistance can be delivered," Grandi said.
Most of the refugees have fled to Poland, western Ukraine, and large numbers have also entered Hungary, Moldova, Romania and Slovakia.
A dramatic video shot on Wednesday showed a crowd of people on a platform at Kharkiv railway station queuing to board a train to Uzhgorod in the west, carrying their children and pets as they fled an assault on the city. .
Worryingly, a "large number" of those crossing into Poland are unaccompanied children, according to Poland's ambassador to the UN, Krzysztof Szczerski.
Many children who cross the border leave behind mothers and fathers, particularly their fathers, who have been asked by the Ukrainian government to stay and fend off Russian troops, he said.
CNN's Matthew Chance, Nathan Hodge, Josh Pennington, Yulia Shevchenko, Julia Hollingsworth, Jack Guy, Katie Bo Lillis, Barbara Starr, Jim Sciutto, Jeremy Herb, Josh Campbell, Dan Wright, Sugam Pokharel and Chris Hippensteel contributed reporting.
Conflict Russia - Ukraine