Ukraine war: Elderly civilian couple blown up in their car by Russian tank
Elderly civilian Ukrainian couple are blown up in their car in completely unprovoked attack by Russian ‘special peacekeeping force’ tank
Elderly civilian Ukrainian couple were blown up in their car by a Russian ‘special peacekeeping’ tank Short clip shows car coming to a halt before a Kremlin tank fires twice, killing both people inside NATO has claimed that Moscow could be deliberately targeting civilians trying to flee Ukraine Putin is increasingly waging a ‘war of terror’ on helpless Ukrainians as his campaign gets bogged downClick here to read MailOnline’s liveblog with the latest updates on the Ukraine crisis
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Shocking video shows the moment an elderly civilian Ukrainian couple were blown up in their car by a Russian ‘special peacekeeping’ tank in a completely unprovoked attack that lays bare the brutality of Vladimir Putin’s lawless invasion.
In a 54 second clip shared widely on Twitter, a car moves into the frame before coming to a halt as a Kremlin tank fires twice on the vehicle. Separate footage shows butchered remains of a couple inside a car, leaving absolutely nothing to the imagination.
NATO has claimed that Moscow could be deliberately targeting civilians trying to flee Ukraine as Putin increasingly wages a ‘war of terror’ as his campaign gets bogged down in what mortified Kremlin insiders have allegedly branded a ‘clusterf**k’.
Speaking in Latvia, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said there are ‘credible’ reports of ‘war crimes’ being committed in Ukraine, following reports Moscow shelled ‘humanitarian corridors’ out of Mariupol and Sumy as civilians try to escape Putin’s bombs.
Buses have carried civilians out of an embattled Ukrainian city along a safe corridor agreed by the warring sides, but a parallel effort to relieve the besieged port of Mariupol in the country’s south was thrown into jeopardy by reports of renewed Russian attacks.
Kremlin forces have laid siege to Ukrainian cities and cut off food, water, heat and medicine in a growing humanitarian disaster, but for days, attempts to create corridors to safely evacuate civilians have stumbled amid continuing fighting and objections to the proposed routes.
Europe’s worst refugee crisis since the Second World War grew even more severe, with UN officials reporting that 2million people have now fled Ukraine.
Shocking video shows the moment an elderly civilian Ukrainian couple were blown up in their car by a Russian ‘special peacekeeping’ tank in a completely unprovoked attack that lays bare the brutality of Vladimir Putin’s lawless invasion
In a 54 second clip shared widely on Twitter, a car comes to a halt as a Kremlin tank fires twice on the vehicle
Separate footage shows butchered remains of a couple inside a car, leaving absolutely nothing to the imagination
Humanitarian corridors offered by Moscow have been dismissed by Kyiv as little more than a PR stunt because routes, most of which lead to Russia or Belarus, have come under attack by the Kremlin’s forces
Officers evacuate an elderly woman as civilians continue to flee from Irpin as snow falls in Irpin, March 8, 2022
People flee the city of Irpin, west of Kyiv, on March 7, 2022 as Russian forces pummelled Ukrainian cities
Ukrainian servicemen inspect a charred Russian tank in the Sumy region, Ukraine, March 7, 2022
Yellow buses with a red cross on them are seen arriving in Mariupol on Tuesday to begin evacuation
A view shows buildings damaged by recent shelling during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in Kharkiv, March 8, 2022
A Ukrainian firefighter in action trying to extinguish the fire at the storage with chemicals which was hit by Russian shelling, on the outskirts of Brovary, the eastern frontline of Kyiv region, March 8, 2022
Russian troops continue to try and surround Kyiv ahead of what is expected to be an attack on the city, with intense fighting reported in the north west including hand-to-hand combat with Russian forces
On Tuesday, a convoy of buses packed with people fleeing the fighting moved along a snowy road from Sumy, a north-eastern city of 250,000 people, according to video from the Ukrainian communications agency.
Deputy prime minister Iryna Vereshchuk said they were heading south west to the city of Poltava, and included students from India and China.
Hours before the convoy reached Sumy, overnight strikes killed 21 people there, including two children, Ukrainian authorities said. Meanwhile, buses emblazoned with red cross symbols carried water, medicine and food towards the encircled southern port of Mariupol, scene of some of the worst desperation.
Vereshchuk said the vehicles would ferry civilians out of the city of 430,000 people, but soon after officials announced the buses were on their way, Ukrainian authorities said they had learned of shelling on the escape route. It was unclear whether the supply convoy made it to Mariupol, and it appeared unlikely that civilians would be able to board the buses to get out.
The deputy mayor of Mariupol cast doubt on the evacuations, telling the BBC that Russian forces continued to pound areas where people were trying to gather ahead of being taken out. He said some roads were blocked, while others were mined.
‘So we cannot establish sustainable ceasefire and safety route at the moment,’ Serhiy Orlov said. ‘So we still have… a city in blockade.’
The city is without water, heat, working sewage systems or phone service. Residents have been getting water from streams or by melting snow. Corpses lay in the streets and authorities planned to start digging mass graves.
With the electricity out, many people are relying on car radios for information, picking up news from stations broadcast from areas controlled by Russian forces or Russian-backed separatists.
In a video address from an undisclosed location, Ukraine’s comic-turned-wartime president Volodymyr Zelensky said a child had died of dehydration in Mariupol, another sign of the city’s desperation. It is not known how long the girl, named only as Tanya, had been under the ruins of her home before she died, but her mother was also found dead at the scene.
Mayor Vadym Boychenko said on the city’s Telegram channel: ‘In the last minutes of her life she was alone, exhausted, frightened and terribly thirsty. This is just one of the many stories of Mariupol, which has been surviving a blockade for eight days.’
Nearly two weeks into the fighting, Russian forces have captured a stretch of southern and coastal Ukraine but have seen their advances stopped in many areas – including around Kyiv, the capital – by Ukrainian fighters targeting Moscow’s armoured columns.
Thousands of people are thought to have been killed – civilians and soldiers – although the actual number remains unknown.
The fighting has caused global economic turmoil, with energy prices surging worldwide and stocks plummeting. It also threatens the food supply of millions around the globe who rely on crops farmed in the Black Sea region.
Western countries have rushed weapons to Ukraine and moved to slap Putin’s Russia with sanctions. In a further effort to punish Russia, US President Joe Biden announced a ban on Russian oil imports, and Shell announced it will stop buying oil and gas from Russia.
Ukraine’s military said its forces continued defence operations in the Mariupol suburbs. The military said ‘demoralised’ Russian forces were looting, commandeering civilian buildings and setting up firing positions in populated areas.
The battle for Mariupol is crucial because its capture could allow Moscow to establish a land corridor to Crimea, which Russia seized from Ukraine in 2014.
Rescue crews dig through the rubble looking for survivors after strikes by Russian forces in Sumy, March 7, 2022
Cars drive past smoke coming from the storage with chemicals which was hit by Russian shelling, on the outskirts of Brovary, the eastern frontline of Kyiv region, March 8, 2022
A police officer says goodbye to his son as his family flees from advancing Russian troops as Russia’s attack on Ukraine continues in the town of Irpin, March 8, 2022
People file across a makeshift river crossing below a destroyed bridge as they flee from advancing Russian troops whose attack on Ukraine continues in the town of Irpin, March 8, 2022
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrive in Adazi, Latvia, March 8, 2022
Oleksiy Kuleba, governor of the Kyiv region, said Ukraine was also making arrangements to get people out of the suburb of Irpin.
Late on Tuesday, Zelensky released a video showing him standing near the presidential offices in Kyiv. Behind him were piles of sandbags, a snow-dusted tree and a few cars.
It was the second video in 24 hours showing him near the country’s seat of power, apparently made to dispel any doubts about whether he had fled the city.
‘Snow fell. It’s that kind of springtime,’ he said in a soft voice. ‘You see, it’s that kind of wartime, that kind of springtime. Harsh. But we will win.’
Zelensky told British MPs on Tuesday ‘over 50 children have been killed’ as he invoked Churchill in an emotional address in which he vowed to fight invading Kremlin troops in the air, sea and on the streets and begged the West to enforce a no-fly zone.
In a speech to the House of Commons that was greeted before and after by standing ovations, Ukraine’s president said: ‘These are the children that could have lived but these people have taken them away from us.
‘Ukraine were not looking to have this war. The Ukraine have not been looking to become big but they have become big over the days of this war. We are the country that are saving people despite having to fight one of the biggest armies in the world. We have to fight the helicopters, rockets.’
He added: ‘The question for us now is to be or not to be. Oh no, this Shakespearean question. For 13 days this question could have been asked but now I can give you a definitive answer. It’s definitely yes, to be.
‘And I would like to remind you the words that the United Kingdom have already heard, which are important again. We will not give up and we will not lose.’
Repeating his call for a no-fly zone to be established by the West, Zelensky begged for the UK to ‘make sure that our Ukrainian skies are safe’.
The historic address came shortly after London announced the UK will phase out the import of Russian oil and oil products by the end of the year as part of a ratcheting up of sanctions on Moscow for the attack, which was launched on February 24.
Speaking through a translator provided by Parliament TV, he said: ‘We are looking for your help, for the help of Western counties. We are thankful for this help and I am grateful to you Boris. Please increase the pressure of sanctions against this country [Russia] and please recognise this country as a terrorist country.
‘Please make sure sure that our Ukrainian skies are safe. Please make sure that you do what needs to be done and what is stipulated by the greatness of your country.
‘Glory to Ukraine and glory to the United Kingdom.’
Prime Minister Boris Johnson told the Commons after the speech that ‘never before in all our centuries of our parliamentary democracy has the House listened to such an address’.
‘In a great European capital now within range of Russian guns, President Volodymyr Zelensky is standing firm for democracy and for freedom,’ he said.
