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Ukraine Russia conflict: Horror report of mass casualty event in Mariupol

Officials in Ukraine say they fear large numbers of people may be dead after “more than 15 hours” of shelling on a city near the Russian border.

Alexis Carey, Alex Blair and Ben Graham
16 min read
March 3, 2022 - 1:25AM
Russian missiles target Kyiv’s TV tower leaving 5 dead

Russia has issued a chilling warning for Kyiv residents, ordering them to escape now ahead of a new wave of brutal attacks by “high-precision weapons” on the capital.

It comes after at least five people were killed after Russian missiles hit Kyiv’s TV tower as the invasion of Ukraine escalates.

It is believed to be part of a deliberate strategy of targeting essential facilities, apparently in a bid to demoralise the Ukrainian people.

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As a result of the strategy, Russia’s defence ministry has urged residents living near critical infrastructure to flee their homes for their own safety.

Since the invasion began, more than 600,000 refugees have fled the nation, according to the UN, with UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi claiming the situation “could become Europe’s largest refugee crisis this century”.

Read on for the latest updates below.

‘Cannot count the victims’: Horror report of mass casualty event

Officials in the south-eastern city of Mariupol in Ukraine, near the border with Russia, have told a senior BBC reporter they fear large numbers of people may be dead after “more than 15 hours” of continuous shelling on the city.

Deputy Mayor Sergiy Orlov told the publication a riverside district, normally home to 130,000 people including his father, has been “nearly totally destroyed”.

“We cannot count the number of victims there, but we believe at least hundreds of people are dead. We cannot go in to retrieve the bodies,” he said.

“The Russian army is working through all their weapons here - artillery, multiple rocket launch systems, airplanes, tactical rockets. They are trying to destroy the city,” Orlov says.

He said Russian forces are several kilometres away on all sides.

“The Ukrainian army is very brave and they will continue to defend the city but the style of the Russian army is like pirates. They do not fight with their army, they just destroy entire districts,” he said.

This picture shows Russian tanks moving into Mariupol last week. Picture: Reuters/Carlos Barria
This picture shows Russian tanks moving into Mariupol last week. Picture: Reuters/Carlos Barria

Smouldering Russian convoy blitzed to ashes

Chilling images show a smouldering Russian convoy of tanks blitzed to ashes by the heroic Ukrainian resistance on the outskirts of Kyiv.

Taken from from the town of Bucha - just 32km from the capital - revealed the mangled wreckage of Russian tanks and military equipment after one of the most brutal firefights of the war so far.

The conflict rages on. Picture: Reuters/Maksim Levin
The conflict rages on. Picture: Reuters/Maksim Levin
A charred military vehicle is seen on a road, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues, near the town of Bucha in the Kyiv region. Picture: Reuters/Maksim Levin
A charred military vehicle is seen on a road, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues, near the town of Bucha in the Kyiv region. Picture: Reuters/Maksim Levin
Bucha is just 32km from the capital. Picture: Reuters/Maksim Levin
Bucha is just 32km from the capital. Picture: Reuters/Maksim Levin

Footage showed the column of Russian tanks rolling into the town, near the Gostomel airbase, on Sunday afternoon before the convoy was shot down and destroyed.

Military experts said the Russians were likely wiped out by Ukrainian artillery and drone strikes.

Heroic locals also banded together to help fight the invaders - with some reportedly chucking Molotov cocktails at enemy vehicles.

The intense fighting left a trail of devastating destruction as chilling pictures showed a heap of smouldering military vehicles and scorched debris strewn across the streets.

Russia claims to have taken Ukraine’s biggest nuclear power plant

Russia has told the global nuclear watchdog that it is in control of the area around Ukraine’s biggest nuclear power plant near the city of Zaporizhzhia, on the Dnieper river in southern Ukraine.

It says staff at the power plant are continuing their normal operations, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says. Ukraine’s nuclear operator says it is in touch with all its power plants and operations are continuing at all of them.

Russia attempting to storm nuclear plants: report

Russian forces are reportedly attempting to seize control of two power plants in Ukraine’s south, as conflict continues to rage across the nation on Wednesday.

Independent journalist Olga Tokariuk, who has been providing regular updates from the ground in Kyiv, has reported Russian troops surrounding two nuclear power plants in Ukraine’s south.

“There are fears of a potential disaster should they succeed. This is a threat not only to Ukraine, but to all of Europe,” Ms Tokariuk said.

Russians troops spotted in key city

The Russian military claims it has taken the southern city of Kherson. These reports are yet to be verified by Ukrainian officials.

Reports from the city are mixed - local authorities are still claiming the city is under Ukrainian control.

Now a video posted on YouTube appears to show Russian military in the city centre, including a tank and soldiers wearing white armbands.

The BBC has independently verified the location of the footage as central Kherson.

A Russian solider in Kherson. Picture: Youtube
A Russian solider in Kherson. Picture: Youtube

Ukraine reports strike on Kharkiv University

Ukraine’s second largest city continues to face relentless attacks from Russian forces.

Fresh video from Kharkiv has shown a building in flames after reportedly being hit by Russian missiles, as invading forces continue to surround the city.

BBC data journalist Daniele Palumbo confirmed the building was the Economics Department of the Kharkiv National University.

UK defence secretary Ben Wallace said Russian forces have “not taken the city” despite “horrendous levels of bombarding” and claimed they are “not making progress by a long shot and continuing to take casualties”.

‘The Russian doctrine is to get harder and tougher’

UK Defence secretary Ben Wallace has weighed in on the state of conflict in Ukraine, warning the worst may still be yet to come as fighting enters its second week on Thursday.

“They are taking casualties the Russians and they are finding it very slow going,” he said via Sky News.

The defence secretary said Russia has hit unexpected roadblocks, in large part due to Ukraine’s fierce defence of its cities as missiles continue to rain down on civilian areas.

“What we have seen is the tactics weren‘t correct,” he said. “They were rather confident they would take many of these cities in a matter of hours, not days.”

He claims Russia has taken far heavier losses than it anticipated when finally hitting the green light on the invasion last week, and warned Vladimir Putin is unlikely to ease on his assault.

“What you‘re seeing now is the heavy bombardments at night, they wont come into the cities as much they have … carpet bombed cities indiscriminately in some cases.

“They will slowly but surely try to surround the cities and either bypass them or bombard them.

“That is the reality and am afraid it is going to get worse. The Russian doctrine is to get harder and tougher.”

Officials report four civilians dead after missile strike

Ukraine officials have reported four civilian deaths including a child after a Russian missile strike hit residential buildings in the city of Zhytomyr, roughly 120km west of the capital of Kyiv.

Ukraine‘s Ministry of Internal Affairs tweeted that at least 16 people were injured.

“So far, four people have died. Including a child,” government official Anton Gerashchenko said.

The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs shared video of the aftermath of the reported strike on Twitter. The footage shows rescue workers hauling away debris in search of survivors.

The Ministry claimed the rubble was what was left of a maternity home, accusing the Russian government of “genocide”.

Ukraine officials have reported four civilian deaths including a child after a Russian missile strike.
Ukraine officials have reported four civilian deaths including a child after a Russian missile strike.
The footage shows rescue workers hauling away debris in search of survivors.
The footage shows rescue workers hauling away debris in search of survivors.

Russian airborne troops land in Kharkiv

The Ukrainian military reported Russian airborne troops have landed in Kharkiv and have been met with fire from local troops after attacking a hospital.

The city is now awakening after a devastating day of attacks on Wednesday, which saw civilian sites targeted by missiles.

At least 21 people were killed and another 112 were wounded in shelling in the eastern city, according to the city’s governor Oleh Synyehubov.

It comes as the nation prepares for another long day of uncertainty, with analysts fearing today could be the beginning of Putin’s largest airborne assault on Ukraine.

Kharkiv Region Police Chief Volodymyr Tymoshko now confirmed that no Ukrainian troops were killed in the battle for the military hospital.

“Currently the situation near the hospital is under control, security has been strengthened,” he said via Sky News.

‘No way out’ as Putin’s ‘final push’ begins

There are growing signs Russia is ramping up its attack against Ukraine, with US Republican Senator Marco Rubio – who is also a member of the Senate intelligence committee – claiming Vladimir Putin’s “final push” is now underway.

“Tonight Putin has launched what appears to be the largest airborne assault of the invasion,” he tweeted.

“It is likely a final push to take control of the SE approach to #Kharkiv, a city he expected to take quickly without resistance & be welcomed by grateful residents as a liberator.”

That was backed up by NEXTA, a high profile Ukrainian media organisation based in Kyiv, which claimed a “landing force” was on the ground in Kharkiv.

AFP also reports a series of air strikes have “pummeled populated areas in the heart” of Kharkiv, sending the civilian death toll soaring with residential blocks targeted.

The city of Mariupol is also reportedly surrounded by Russian forces, with defenders revealing there was now “no way out”.

Located in the south on the Sea of Azov, Mariupol has so far held its own against Russian troops.

But the UK’s Ministry of Defence now claims it – along with Kharkiv and Kherson – are “likely encircled by Russian forces”.

Mariupol is seen as being strategically important as it could enable a land corridor between Crimea and its mainland to be established.

Reporter Roland Oliphant has posted a heartbreaking tweet with a plea from a Ukrainian soldier on the ground in the city who asks not to be forgotten if the worst should happen.

UN: ‘Death toll is likely much higher’

The UN’s Human Right’s Commission has revealed at least 136 civilians have died since Russia’s invasion last Thursday, including 13 children.

Another 400 civilians, including 26 children, have also been injured as a result of the ongoing attacks on Ukrainian cities. Footage of a missile striking Kharkiv’s Freedom Square yesterday showed Putin’s forces are now unafraid of targeting civilian areas, as fighting continues into its sixth day.

“These are only the casualties we were able to cross-check, and the real toll is likely to be much higher,” spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Liz Throssell said via CNN.

According to the UN, most of the recorded casualties have been caused by the use of explosive weapons with a wide impact area.

Over 600,000 civilians have fled the country since the beginning of the invasion, placing neighbouring countries under immense pressure at the border.

Plot to assassinate President foiled

Ukraine has reportedly “neutralised” a Russian plot to assassinate war hero President Volodymyr Zelensky – thanks to leaked intelligence from the Russians themselves.

Intelligence from Russian security forces sympathetic to Ukraine’s cause claims that two elite death squads had been sent to take out the leader, but had failed in their mission.

A report in The New Voice of Ukraine quoted Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council secretary Oleksiy Danilov as saying that Russian sources passed information to Kyiv to assist authorities in finding the would-be assassins.

“They were divided in two groups, we were tracking them,” Danilov said.

“One group was handled near Hostomel [northwest of Kyiv], the other one is in our sights.

“We won’t give up our president, our country. This is our land, be gone.”

Ukraine has reportedly foiled a Russian plot to assassinate war hero President Volodymyr Zelensky – thanks to leaked intelligence from the Russians themselves.
Ukraine has reportedly foiled a Russian plot to assassinate war hero President Volodymyr Zelensky – thanks to leaked intelligence from the Russians themselves.

US bans Russian planes

US President Joe Biden has announced plans to ban Russian aircraft from US airspace in his State of the Union address.

America will join a growing list of other nations also barring Russian aircraft due to the Ukraine invasion.

“We, the United States of America, stand with the Ukrainian people,” Mr Biden said – but he stopped short of sending troops to help.

“Let me be clear — our forces are not engaged and will not engage in the conflict with Russian forces in Ukraine,” he continued.

While US troops were deployed to Europe, they were sent “to defend our NATO allies in the event that Putin decides to keep moving west,” Mr Putin confirmed.

Train station horror as Ukrainians flee

Harrowing stories are emerging of desperate Ukrainians attempting to escape Kyiv by train as Russian forces close in.

BuzzFeed reporter Christopher Miller has shared footage on Twitter of the chaotic scenes, describing families’ heartbreaking struggle to flee the city.

Russian media’s humiliating ‘victory’ claim

A Russian news outlet falsely claimed “victory” over Ukraine in an embarrassing hastily-deleted article.

Over the weekend, the Russian state-owned RIA news agency published an article heaping praise on President Vladimir Putin for his “victory” over Ukraine, which is claims was “restoring” Russian unity.

But Ukraine has not fallen to Russian forces as claimed in the since-deleted article, with Russia in fact facing a number of setbacks showing the invasion was not going to plan.

“Russia is restoring its historical fullness, gathering the Russian world, the Russian people together – in its entirety of Great Russians, Belarusians and Little Russians,” the article said, according to a translation.

“If we had abandoned this … then we would not only betray the memory of our ancestors, but would also be cursed by our descendants for allowing the disintegration of the Russian land.”

“Now this problem is gone – Ukraine has returned to Russia.

“This does not mean that its statehood will be liquidated, but it will be reorganised, re-established and returned to its natural state of part of the Russian world.”

Hidden crisis as refugees flee

The refugee crisis sparked by the Ukraine invasion has caused a potential sanitation disaster as hundreds of thousands of people flee their homes.

Water Mission has launched its Ukraine Refugee Response as a result, with rapid response teams on the ground in neighbouring Moldova, Romania and Poland, which have seen an influx of Ukrainian refugees.

The teams are there to assess safe water, sanitation and hygiene needs as refugees escape the fighting in Ukraine.

According to the organisation, the borders are experiencing increasing delays – sometimes stretching over two days with people waiting.

A Water Mission photo taken today at Medyka, Poland by the Ukraine border – an area experiencing sub-freezing temperatures – reveals the critical need safe water plays in the days and weeks ahead.

Picture: Water Mission
Picture: Water Mission

Companies abandon Russia

A slew of household-name brands are pausing sales of their products in Russia, or shutting down operations in the nation, in light of the invasion of Ukraine.

The list of companies making a stand include Apple, Nike, Ford Motor Company, and Boeing.

Secret plot to invade second nation leaked

Belarus’ President Alexander Lukashenko – a close ally of Vladimir Putin – appears to have accidentally revealed top-secret plans to invade a new country.

The dictator fronted security officials in a live TV broadcast while positioned in front of a battle map that seemingly indicates a planned Russian operation which spans from southern Ukraine into nearby Moldova.

The map included Russian lines of attack into Ukraine – some of which have already come to pass – and also outlined attacks which have not yet occurred.

One of those seems to point to an operation stretching from the Ukrainian port city of Odessa into Moldova.

Mr Lukashenko’s apparent blunder came within hours of the Ukrainian parliament confirming the presence of Belarusian troops in Ukraine.

While the Belarusian leader has repeatedly denied claims his country was poised to join to fight against Ukraine, the invasion map has been seen by many as a clear sign Belarus planned to assist Russia.

It comes hot on the heels of Belarus voting to revoke its non-nuclear status, sparking fears its territory could be used by Russia as a launch pad against Ukraine.

Belarus' leader Alexander Lukashenko apparently accidentally revealed plans for Russia to invade Moldova next. Picture: Belarusian State Radio
Belarus' leader Alexander Lukashenko apparently accidentally revealed plans for Russia to invade Moldova next. Picture: Belarusian State Radio

Ukraine battered by fresh assaults

Reports of heavy assaults against residential parts of Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv, Vyshneve and Kharkiv are emerging.

A Ukrainian government Twitter account has shared disturbing images of destroyed private homes, claiming there were likely bodies buried in the rubble.

Reporter Scott Stedman has also claimed that “Kharkiv is being hit unbelievably hard tonight”, with assaults likely carried out by an “extremely indiscriminate” Multiple Launch Rocket System.

A private maternity clinic near Kyiv has also been hit by a missile, although patients were believed to have been evacuated before the attack.

“A missile hit the maternity clinic. Much damage was done but the building is standing. Everyone has been evacuated,” clinic chief Vitaliy Gyrin posted on Facebook.

Russia could be kicked off the internet

Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov has urged the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers to effectively ban Russia from the internet.

In a letter, Mr Fedorov asked the body to revoke the .ru and. su domains, either permanently or as a temporary measure, in light of Mr Putin’s “atrocious crimes” against Ukraine.

$3b rescue package

The World Bank has given the green light to a $3 billion emergency aid package for Ukraine.

Russia’s chilling nuke drills revealed

Russia’s nuclear submarines and mobile missile launchers have carried out drills just days after Mr Putin’s chilling revelation that Russia’s deterrence forces had been placed on high alert.

In a statement, Russia’s Northern Fleet confirmed several of its nuclear submarines had participated in the exercises in the Barents Sea designed to “train manoeuvring in stormy conditions”.

Russia has confirmed nuclear drills. Picture: Handout/Russian Defence Ministry/AFP
Russia has confirmed nuclear drills. Picture: Handout/Russian Defence Ministry/AFP

It also confirmed that warships protecting the Kola Peninsula would join.

The Associated Press reported that Russia’s Strategic Missile Forces also dispersed intercontinental ballistic missile launchers in eastern Siberia to practice covert deployment.

The news comes as Russian troops were ordered to be “combat ready” following Mr Putin’s invasion of Ukraine last week.

Apartment hit in brutal assault

An apartment building located near a hospital has been hit as Russia ramps up its attack of Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv.

According to CNN, the complex has been engulfed in flames and is all but ruined, with several bodies seen at the scene.

The blast comes just hours after Kharkiv’s regional administration building was severely damaged in yet another strike.

Chilling warning as locals urged to get out now

The Russian defence ministry brazenly announced plans to carry out strikes on the Ukrainian security service and its alleged “Psyops Unit” in the centre of Kyiv.

“In order to suppress information attacks on Russia, the technological infrastructure of the SBU and the 72nd main PSO (Psychological Operations Unit) centre in Kyiv will be hit with high-precision weapons,” Russian spokesman Igor Konashenkov said.

“We call on … Kyiv residents living near relay nodes to leave their homes.”

Meanwhile, the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence has claimed in an intelligence update that “increased numbers of Russian air and artillery strikes have been conducted against densely populated urban areas across Ukraine”.

The ministry also claimed a large Russian convoy of troops and vehicles was en route to Kyiv.

A view of a destroyed bridge on March 1 in Irpin, Ukraine. Picture: Anastasia Vlasova/Getty Images
A view of a destroyed bridge on March 1 in Irpin, Ukraine. Picture: Anastasia Vlasova/Getty Images

“The column is a mixed force of combat and logistics vehicles with the bulk of the forces remaining approximately 30km from the centre of the city,” it stated.

“Ukrainian forces continue to hold the cities of Kharkiv, Kherson and Mariupol however all three cities are now likely encircled by Russian forces.”

Five dead as TV tower hit

Kyiv’s TV Tower has been hit by two missiles, leaving at least five dead and five injured.

The grim news was confirmed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, which shared a photo of the blast and warned that as a result of the shelling, TV channels had been temporarily knocked out.

“The enemy can spread fakes in order to destabilise the situation. You know, Ukraine is fighting and enduring!” the ministry tweeted.

Ukraine’s defence minister, Oleksii Reznikov, also took to Twitter to claim Moscow planned to cut off the internet and access to communications in a deliberate strategy designed to break the will of the Ukrainian people.

“Its goal is to break the resistance of the people and the army. They can arrange a breakdown of connection. After [that] the spread of massive fake messages that the country’s leadership has given up,” Mr Reznikov posted on Twitter.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba condemned the latest strike – which occurred near the site of a Holocaust memorial – as “evil and barbaric”.

Russian units ‘surrendering’ without a fight

The Pentagon claims the morale of Russian troops has plunged, leading to soldiers “surrendering, sometimes without a fight” in some instances.

The claim was made by a senior defence insider, who said intelligence has noted “certain risk-averse behaviour by the Russian military.”

“The Russians have been surprised by some of the morale problems that they’re experiencing and I think they’re none too pleased about the logistics and sustainment challenges they’ve had,” the official said during a press briefing, according to the New York Post.

The official said many of the troops were “very young men” and “conscripts” without thorough training.

The official added that Russian President Vladimir Putin was likely “regrouping, rethinking, re-evaluating” the assault on Kyiv, and that Moscow might “change their tactics” as a result.

“One reason why things appear to be stalled north of Kyiv is that the Russians themselves are regrouping and rethinking and trying to adjust to the challenges that they’ve had,” the official said.

Elsewhere, terrified Russian Marines defied orders to storm a mine-filled Ukrainian beach — and instead forced their fleet of warships to turn around and flee, according to local reports.

Members of the 810th brigade of Russia’s Marine force allegedly told Ukraine’s Dumskaya paper that they had been ordered Monday to carry out an underwater assault on Luzanovsky beach in Odessa.

But at the last minute, “a real rebellion took place” and the crews managed to turn around their ships and flee the bay, according to the report also shared by the Odessa Journal Tuesday.

The “large group” of Russian warships “suddenly withdrew” just as Ukraine’s military was about to “shoot back,” retired Ukrainian diplomat Olexander Scherba also tweeted.

‘Massacre’ hits Kharkiv

Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, has also been targeted by Russian strikes which left at least nine people dead and 37 injured.

At least three fatalities were children, mayor Ihor Terekhov confirmed on Telegram.

“Today we had a very difficult day. It showed us that it’s not just a war, this is a massacre of Ukrainian people,” Mr Terekhov.

A view of the square outside the damaged local city hall of Kharkiv on March 1, destroyed as a result of Russian troop shelling. Picture: Sergey BOBOK/AFP
A view of the square outside the damaged local city hall of Kharkiv on March 1, destroyed as a result of Russian troop shelling. Picture: Sergey BOBOK/AFP

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“The missiles hit residential buildings, killing and injuring peaceful civilians.

“Kharkiv has not seen such damage for a very long time. And this is horrible.”

It comes amid unverified reports of a major explosion at an air base near Kharkiv.

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