The office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine said today that it has become aware of the death of 24 more children in Mariupol, the port in the southeastern part of the country that had been under siege for weeks before Russian forces seized it in mid-May.
In all, the prosecutor general's office said at least 287 children have died since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began on February 24. At least 492 have been wounded.
"While recording criminal offenses, it became known that another 24 children died in Mariupol, in the Donetsk region, due to indiscriminate shelling by the Russian military," the prosecutor general's office said in a post on the Telegram messaging app. "The figures are not final, as work continues in order to verify them at points of active hostilities in temporarily occupied and liberated territories."
Reuters was unable to confirm this report from an independent source.
The mayor of Mariupol, which has been devastated by the siege, said cholera has broken out in the city as the sewage system is not working and bodies are decomposing in the streets.
Russia has denied targeting civilians and denies allegations of war crimes in what it calls a 'special military operation' aimed at demilitarising and 'denazifying' Ukraine.
Earlier in June, the United Nations said more than 250 children have been killed since the war began and five million remain at risk.
Source: Cyprus Times
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