Russia invades Ukraine: Terrified civilians run for their lives amid rocket attacks, pics

The terrifying moment civilians were forced to run for their lives during a deadly bombardment in Ukraine has been captured on video and in shocking pictures.

Journalists run for cover after heavy shelling on the only escape route used by locals, while Russian troops advance towards the capital, in Irpin, near Kyiv, Ukraine March 6, 2022. Picture: Reuters/Carlos Barria.

Horrifying pictures show the moment civilians came under attack from a barrage of rockets that left multiple people dead as they tried to evacuate Ukraine through a “green corridor”.

A Russian force advancing on Kyiv fired mortar shells at a damaged bridge used by refugees fleeing the war, sending crowds of people running for their lives, and leaving three members of a family dead on the pavement in Irpin near the capital. The town’s mayor Oleksandr Markushin said at least eight people, including two children, were killed as a result of shelling.

Images of the bombardment show terrified men, women and children – who were using the only escape route out of Irpin – running and ducking for cover. Ukrainians accused Russia’s army of firing mortar bombs at the bridge. The Russian defence ministry has not commented.

Footage of one of the Irpin blasts shows a rocket strike a residential street and explode into flames as people duck for cover.

At least two bodies could be seen in pictures draped under sheets and others sprawled on the roadside among strewn their suitcases – and a green carrier which appears to contain a pet cat.

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People cross under a bridge that was destroyed by a Russian air raid while fleeing the town of Irpin. Picture: Aris Messinis / AFP.

A local resident reacts as a house is on fire after heavy shelling on the only escape route used by locals to leave the town of Irpin, while Russian troops advance towards the capital, 24km from Kyiv, Ukraine March 6, 2022. Reuters/Carlos Barria

New York Times photojournalist Lynsey Addario said she “witnessed Russian troops deliberately targeting civilians fleeing for their lives from the village of Irpin”

“At least three members of a family of four were killed in front of me,” she wrote on Twitter.

According to Ms Addario, a shell landed in the street, sending up a cloud of concrete dust and leaving one family — a mother, a father, a teenage son and a daughter who appeared about 8 years old — sprawled on the ground.

Ukrainian forces had blown up the Irpin bridge – which is about 20 kilometres northwest of Kyiv – earlier to slow the Russian advance. The town is being battered by artillery and air strikes as Russian troops close in on Kyiv.

A woman is assisted while people cross under a destroyed bridge as they evacuate the city of Irpin, northwest of Kyiv, during heavy shelling and bombing on March 5, 2022. Picture: Aris Messinis / AFP.

Several people were killed as they tried to evacuate the city of Irpin, northwest of Kyiv, during heavy shelling and bombing. Picture: Daphne ROUSSEAU / AFP.

Members of the press run for cover after heavy shelling on the only escape route used by locals in Irpin, near Kyiv, Ukraine March 6, 2022. Picture: Carlos Barria

About a dozen or so Ukrainian soldiers were in the immediate area helping carry civilians’ luggage and children pass under the bridge to cross a river and evacuate, when the shelling broke out on Sunday.

Ukrainians crowd under a destroyed bridge as they try to flee crossing the Irpin river in the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, March 5, 2022. pic.twitter.com/4OUFbemLXJ

— Emilio Morenatti (@EmilioMorenatti) March 5, 2022

Irpin has found itself on the frontline between Russian and Ukrainian forces in recent days as Putin’s army continues its grinding advance towards the capital. Artillery and air strikes have caused heavy damage in and around the town including residential buildings, roads and bridges.

“They are bombing residential areas – schools, churches, big buildings, everything,” said accountant Natalia Dydenko told AFP, glancing back at the destruction she was leaving behind.

A man removes personal belongings from a burning house after being shelled in the city of Irpin, outside Kyiv, on March 4, 2022. Picture: Aris Messinis / AFP)

A Ukrainian serviceman carries a child while assisting people during heavy shelling and bombing in Ukraine. Picture: Aris Messinis / AFP.

The latest attack on civilians comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin doubled down on his committment to continue the deadly invasion until all of his demands are met.

A fresh attempt by Ukraine’s besieged port city of Mariupol to evacuate its civilians failed again Sunday as Moscow and Kyiv traded blame for ceasefire breaches for a second consecutive day.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, now into an eleventh day, has seen more than 1.5 million people flee the country, in what the UN has called “Europe’s fastest growing refugee crisis since World War II”.

Pope Francis on Sunday deplored the “rivers of blood and tears” flowing in Ukraine, as Washington cited “very credible reports” that Russia committed war crimes by deliberately attacking civilians.

The Irpin Bridge shelling incident pic.twitter.com/UbJ6oUnZm1

— Illia Ponomarenko 🇺🇦 (@IAPonomarenko) March 6, 2022

The video shows the sight of the airport in Vinnytsia that got hit by 8 rockets during a Russian airstrike on March 6, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Video: Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine/Telegram pic.twitter.com/mesfSwboxu

— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) March 6, 2022

Hundreds of civilians have been killed and thousands wounded, with hundreds of thousands of mostly women and children pouring into neighbouring countries such as Poland, Romania or Moldova for refuge.

After the West imposed unprecedented sanctions against businesses, banks and billionaires in a bid to choke off the Russian economy, US-based card payment giants Visa and Mastercard were the latest companies to announce they would suspend operations in Russia.

World leaders vowed further punitive action if Vladimir Putin failed to change course but the Russian leader has equated global sanctions with a declaration of war and has warned that Kyiv is “putting in question the future of Ukrainian statehood”.

Мэр Ирпеня Александр Маркушин сообщил, что во время эвакуации мирных жителей в результате обстрелов погибли восемь человек.

На видео: российские военные убили семью, включая маленького ребенка, которая пыталась эвакуироваться по разрушенному мосту. pic.twitter.com/Qyg2oaQYvU

— Новости Донбасса (@novostidnua) March 6, 2022

With a wary eye on Russia’s nuclear stocks, NATO allies have so far rebuffed Ukraine’s calls for a no-fly zone. Putin has threatened “colossal and catastrophic consequences not only for Europe but also the whole world” if a no-fly zone is set up.

In the latest sign that sanctions were biting, Moscow said Sunday that retailers in Russia will restrict sales of essential goods including bread, rice and flour to limit black market speculation.

Cracking down on dissent at home, Russia detained around 2,500 people across the country for staging protests against its military assault on Ukraine.

The Ukrainian military said Sunday it was engaged in “fierce battles” with Russian forces for the control of borders at the southern city of Mykolaiv and Chernihiv in the north.

“The main efforts are focused on defending the city of Mariupol,” it said in a Facebook post, adding an operation by Ukrainian forces was also underway in the eastern part of the Donetsk region.