corridor for civilians to leave the city of Irpin near Kyiv coming under fire

Innocent victims slaughtered by Putin: The moment Ukrainian parents rush dying 18-month-old boy to hospital after he was hit by Russian shelling - as artillery also wipes out mother, her two children and five others while world watches in horror

                     

                     

In a shocking video recorded yesterday, families in Irpin were seen dragging suitcases along a woodland path.

They looked cold and tired, their neighbourhood having been bombed repeatedly by the Russians over recent days and nights.

Bent over beneath the weight of their belongings they made steady progress on the long journeys to safety. Suddenly, the dull thud of a bomb dropping nearby shatters the silence.

Instinctively, the men, women and children of all ages fall to the ground. Ukrainian soldiers shout instructions, hurrying them along.

As a fallen tree blocks their progress, the troops carry children over the trunk. Behind them a building where the Russian ordnance landed is ablaze. They are urged to run as the soldiers fear another shell will land any second.

But they struggle with their heavy loads, their bodies bent double by rucksacks and bulging carrier bags, their treasured belongings stuffed inside.

One father protectively clutches his young daughter against his shoulder, another carries a baby in his arms as they speed up. The troops’ instincts prove correct and there is another thud as the ground shakes beneath their feet.

Older members of the fleeing group are gasping for breath and must be lifted by the soldiers over a roadside barrier. But finally they make it to a bus and clamber inside as snow gently falls.

They look utterly exhausted – spent of physical and emotional energy. They were among the lucky ones as at least eight people were killed while attempting to leave Irpin yesterday.

According to reports, some of those who died belonged to the same family. Disturbing pictures showed victims lying in the middle of a road, their bodies wrapped up against the winter chill.

The town, to the north-west of Kyiv, is in Russia’s firing line because of its proximity to Hostomel airfield – the scene of intense fighting since the first day of the campaign.

Yesterday, Russian mortar rounds targeted a damaged bridge being used as a makeshift shelter by residents of the town.

Last night, Ukrainian military sources insisted none of their soldiers were near the civilians as they sought to escape the shelling. Thousands of people have been seeking to leave Irpin and the nearby towns of Hostomel and Bucha because of the fighting.

Following yesterday’s attacks, Kyiv’s military commander Oleksiy Kuleba said: ‘Unfortunately because there is not a ceasefire people cannot get out.’

Mariupol

Meanwhile, a fresh attempt to evacuate civilians from the southern city of Mariupol began at 10am UK time yesterday.

Under an agreement brokered by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), refugees had five hours to flee westwards along humanitarian corridors.

But soon after the proposed start time, the city council said the attempt was not possible due to ‘Russian shelling’. Later, the ICRC revealed the two sides had failed to agree on who could be evacuated, whether aid could be brought in and what routes could be used.

It stopped short of confirming Ukrainian reports the Russians breached the evacuation agreement. Instead, the ICRC presented a more neutral assessment, indicating ‘hostilities resumed’ on the Mariupol to Zaporizhzhia road.

Its teams remained in Mariupol last night to secure a third attempt to help around 200,000 civilians flee. A separate ceasefire also failed yesterday in the nearby city of Volnovakha, which has also been under bombardment.

The ICRC hoped 15,000 residents would be able to escape. But only an estimated 400 refugees managed to flee before Ukrainian reports suggested the Russians had breached the ceasefire. Commenting on the breached ceasefire, UK’s Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said: ‘Russian generals have sunk to a new low. The world can see them for what they are. Shelling civilians is not a mark of a real soldier but a coward.’

In temperatures of -2C (28F), Mariupol has been without heating and electricity since Thursday. The Russians cut off internet and mobile telephone communications on the same day.

There were reports over the weekend of food and fresh water supplies running low inside the city. The aid agency Doctors Without Borders described the situation as ‘catastrophic’ and urged both sides to reach an agreement.

Local mayor Vadym Boychenko has likened the encirclement of Mariupol to the deadly Nazi siege of Volgograd – then Stalingrad – during the Second World War.