Irpin refugee column shelling

Last updated
Irpin refugee column shelling
Part of the Battle of Irpin
Transfer of civilians from Irpin to Kyiv due to Russian attacks.jpg
Refugees fleeing from Russian bombardments over a bridge in Irpin
Location Irpin intersection, Ukraine
DateMarch 6, 2022 (2022-03-06)
TargetUkrainians
Attack type
Mortar strikes, explosive projectiles
Deaths8 [1]
PerpetratorBanner of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (obverse).svg  Russian Armed Forces [2]

On 6 March 2022, from 9:30 a.m. until 2 p.m. local time, the Russian Armed Forces repeatedly shelled an intersection in Irpin that hundreds of civilians were using to escape to Kyiv, whilst a Ukrainian artillery position was located nearby. They killed eight Ukrainian civilians. Human Rights Watch alleged the Russian army carried out an unlawful, indiscriminate, and disproportionate attack. The incident was part of an assault on Irpin, during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Contents

History

On 6 March 2022 there were hundreds of civilians at the intersection on the P30 road, near the St. George's Ukrainian Orthodox Church, just south of a bridge that the Ukrainian army had destroyed to hinder the Russian invasion. The civilians were fleeing the Russian army's advance from Irpin towards Kyiv. In the intersection near the bridge were a dozen Ukrainian soldiers, some helping the civilians carry their luggage and children. [1] [3] The Ukrainian artillery was firing mortar rounds from a position about 180 meters away. [1] [3] No agreements had been reached between the parties about a temporary ceasefire or humanitarian corridor. [1]

Journalists of The New York Times and freelance journalists on the scene report that for several hours the Russian army bombarded the intersection that the civilians were using to flee. [1] [3] The Russians fired explosive projectiles into the area, with projectiles hitting the intersection or the surrounding area every 10 minutes, [1] killing at least eight civilians, as reported by the Ukrainian authorities. [1] [4]

Among the victims were a group of four, including two children, who were killed by a mortar strike. [5] [6] [7] [8]

According to Human Rights Watch, it is possible that the projectiles were "observed" by the Russians, who would then know where they were landing and could easily have adjusted the aim away from the intersection. Instead they engaged in prolonged shelling of the intersection being used by civilians, which indicates "potential recklessness or deliberateness" on their part. The repeated nature of the attacks suggests that Russian forces "violated their obligations under international humanitarian law not to conduct indiscriminate or disproportionate attacks that harm civilians, and failed to take all feasible measures to avoid civilian casualties." [1]

The human rights organisation also stated that the Ukrainian forces "have an obligation to take all feasible precautions to avoid or minimize civilian harm," such as refraining from engaging in combat in populated areas. [1]

See also

Related Research Articles

Irpin is a city on the Irpin River in Bucha Raion, Kyiv Oblast, northern Ukraine. It is located next to the capital Kyiv. Irpin hosts the administration of Irpin urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. The city has a population of 65,167.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hostomel</span> Rural locality in Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine

Hostomel is a rural settlement in Bucha Raion, Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine. It is located northwest of the capital Kyiv. It hosts the administration of Hostomel settlement hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Population: 18,466.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lynsey Addario</span> American photojournalist (born 1973)

Lynsey Addario is an American photojournalist. Her work often focuses on conflicts and human rights issues, especially the role of women in traditional societies. In 2022, she received a Courage in Journalism Award from the International Women's Media Foundation (IWMF).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">240 mm mortar M240</span> Soviet-made towed heavy mortar

The Soviet 240 mm mortar M240 is a 240 millimeter breech loading smoothbore heavy mortar that fires a 130 kilogram projectile. It entered service in 1953.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Ilovaisk</span> 2014 battle in the Donbas war

The Battle of Ilovaisk started on 7 August 2014, when the Armed Forces of Ukraine and pro-Ukrainian paramilitaries began a series of attempts to capture the city of Ilovaisk from pro-Russian insurgents affiliated with the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and detachments of the Russian Armed Forces. Although Ukrainian forces were able to enter the city on 18 August, they were encircled between 24 and 26 August by overwhelming Russian military forces that crossed the border, joining the battle. After days of encirclement, Ukrainian forces rejected the DPR's proposal to open a humanitarian corridor on the condition that they abandon their armored vehicles and ammunition, and on the morning of 29 August 2014 began to leave Ilovaisk with their weapons. The Russian side opened fire on the evacuating Ukrainian soldiers, many of whom died whilst trying to escape.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Marinka (2015)</span> 2015 battle in the Donbas war

The Battle of Marinka was a short battle in the war in Donbas in and around Marinka, Donetsk Oblast which took place on 3 June 2015. Ukrainian forces fought the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic's (DPR) Republican Guard and Pyatnashka Brigade under Akhra Avidzba. The town of Marinka was briefly seized by the DPR forces before it was recaptured by the Ukrainians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Russian war crimes</span> Violations of the laws of war committed by the Russian Federation

Russian war crimes are the violations of the international criminal law including war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of genocide which the official armed and paramilitary forces of Russia are accused of committing since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. These accusations also extend to the aiding and abetting of crimes which have been committed by proto-statelets or puppet statelets which are armed and financed by Russia, including the Luhansk People's Republic and the Donetsk People's Republic. These war crimes have included murder, torture, terrorism, deportation or forced transfer, abduction, rape, looting, unlawful confinement, unlawful airstrikes or attacks against civilian objects, and wanton destruction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Russian invasion of Ukraine</span> Ongoing military conflict in Eastern Europe

On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine in an escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War that started in 2014. The invasion became the largest attack on a European country since World War II. It is estimated to have caused tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilian casualties and hundreds of thousands of military casualties. By June 2022, Russian troops occupied about 20% of Ukrainian territory. From a population of 41 million in January 2022, about 8 million Ukrainians had been internally displaced and more than 8.2 million had fled the country by April 2023, creating Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. Extensive environmental damage caused by the war, widely described as an ecocide, contributed to food crises worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern Ukraine campaign</span> Russian offensive in Ukraine

The northern Ukraine campaign was a theater of operation in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It involved attacks by Russia across the Russo-Ukrainian and Belarusian–Ukrainian borders, beginning on 24 February 2022, for control of Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, and the surrounding areas of Kyiv Oblast and northern regions Zhytomyr Oblast, Sumy Oblast, and Chernihiv Oblast. Kyiv is the seat of the Ukrainian government and the headquarters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">War crimes in the Russian invasion of Ukraine</span> War crimes in Ukraine

Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the Russian military and authorities have committed war crimes, such as deliberate attacks against civilian targets ; indiscriminate attacks on densely-populated areas ; abduction, torture and murder of civilians; forced deportations; sexual violence; destruction of cultural heritage; and mistreatment, torture and murder of Ukrainian prisoners of war.

The battle of Bucha was part of the Kyiv offensive in the Russian invasion of Ukraine for control of the city of Bucha. The combatants were elements of the Russian Armed Forces and Ukrainian Ground Forces. The battle lasted from 27 February to 31 March 2022 and ended with the withdrawal of Russian forces. The battle was part of a larger tactic to encircle Kyiv, the capital city of Ukraine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Irpin</span> Battle in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine

The battle of Irpin was part of the Kyiv offensive in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine for control of the city of Irpin. The combatants were elements of the Russian Armed Forces and Ukrainian Ground Forces. The battle lasted from 27 February 2022 to 28 March 2022 and ended with Ukrainian forces recapturing the city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women in the Russian invasion of Ukraine</span> Roles of women during the Russian Invasion of Ukraine

The Russian invasion of Ukraine, that began on 24 February 2022, has had a significant impact on women across Ukraine and Russia, both as combatants and as civilians. In Ukraine, the invasion has seen a significant increase in women serving in the military as well as a significant number of women leaving the country as refugees. In Russia, women have led the anti-war movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bucha massacre</span> 2022 massacre by Russian forces in Ukraine

The Bucha massacre, also known as the Bucha genocide was the mass murder of Ukrainian civilians and prisoners of war by the Russian Armed Forces during the fight for and occupation of the city of Bucha as part of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Photographic and video evidence of the massacre emerged on 1 April 2022 after Russian forces withdrew from the city.

A series of border skirmishes has taken place along the Russia–Ukraine border in Sumy and Chernihiv Oblasts since the withdrawal of Russian troops from Northern Ukraine. Ukrainian officials have stated that strikes across the border happen daily.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Huliaipole</span> Ongoing battle of the Russo-Ukrainian War

The battle of Huliaipole is an ongoing military conflict between the Armed Forces of Russia and the Armed Forces of Ukraine over the city of Huliaipole, in central Zaporizhzhia Oblast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Attacks on civilians in the Russian invasion of Ukraine</span>

During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Russian military have carried out deliberate attacks against civilian targets and indiscriminate attacks in densely-populated areas. The United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine says the Russian military exposed the civilian population to unnecessary and disproportionate harm by using cluster bombs and by firing other weapons with wide-area effects into civilian areas, such as missiles, heavy artillery shells and multiple launch rockets. As of 2024, the attacks had resulted in the documented deaths of between 10,000 and 16,500 civilians. On 22 April 2022, the UN reported that of the 2,343 civilian casualties it had been able to document, it could confirm 92.3% of these deaths were as a result of the actions of the Russian armed forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Russian occupation of Kyiv Oblast</span> Military occupation by Russia

The Russian occupation of Kyiv Oblast was a military occupation that began on the first day of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022. The capital, Kyiv, was extensively bombed during the invasion, but was never captured. However, many cities were captured near North and western parts of the Oblast.

This timeline of the Russian invasion of Ukraine covers the period from 24 February 2022, when Russia launched a military invasion of Ukraine, to 7 April 2022 when fighting focused away from the north and towards the south and east of Ukraine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Use of cluster munitions in the Russian invasion of Ukraine</span>

The use of cluster munitions during the Russian invasion of Ukraine (2022–present) has been recorded by a number of eyewitnesses and journalists, as well as representatives of the UN, humanitarian and public organizations. In particular, the head of the UN Human Rights Council, Michelle Bachelet, reported on March 30 at least 24 cases since the beginning of the invasion. As of July 1, hundreds of attacks by Russian forces with cluster munitions have already been recorded in the settlements of the Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kyiv, Luhansk, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Sumy, Kharkiv, Kherson and Chernihiv regions. 215 civilians are known to have been killed in these shellings and 474 injured, many of which may go unreported. Both Russia as well as Ukraine have used cluster munitions during the conflict, however, Russian use has been extensive while Ukrainian use has been more limited.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Ukraine: Russian Assault Kills Fleeing Civilians". Human Rights Watch. March 8, 2022. Archived from the original on March 9, 2022. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  2. Trofimov, Yaroslav (6 March 2022). "Russian Artillery Kills Ukrainian Civilians Fleeing Kyiv Suburb". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 5 April 2022. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 Addario, Lynsey (6 March 2022). "Russian forces fire on evacuees, leaving 4 people dead outside Kyiv". New York Times. Archived from the original on 13 March 2022. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  4. "8 civilians killed during evacuation from Irpin near Kyiv". The Kyiv Independent . 6 March 2022. Retrieved 2022-03-31.
  5. Lynsey Addario, Andrew E. Kramer (March 6, 2022). "Ukrainian Family's Dash for Safety Ends in Death". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 9, 2022. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  6. Paulina Villegas, David L. Stern and Sarah Cahlan (March 6, 2022). "Two Ukrainian children killed 'in front of my own eyes' while trying to evacuate, official says". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on March 9, 2022. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
  7. "Man returns after family killed near Kyiv, says his "beloved wife is lying in a black bag on the floor" of a morgue". www.cbsnews.com. CBS News. 10 March 2022. Archived from the original on 2022-03-30. Retrieved 2022-03-31.
  8. Said, Carolyn (9 March 2022). "Silicon Valley tech worker was the Ukrainian mom lying dead on street in brutal photo that sparked outrage". San Francisco Chronicle . Retrieved 2022-03-31.