Published 00:14 IST, March 2nd 2022
'History is repeating', says Zelenskyy as Russians kill 5 at Babyn Yar holocaust memorial
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy questioned the whole world about uttering the word "never again" as five people were again killed at Babyn Yar.
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Nearly an hour after Russian forces hit Ukraine’s main Holocaust memorial of Babyn Yar in Kyiv while targeting the nearby TV tower, resulting in the killing of five people, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy took to Twitter and said, "History is repeating". Notably, he was referring to the 1941 massacre in which more than 32,000 Jewish people were killed by Nazi occupiers during their ill-fated Russian campaign 'Mission Barbarossa' against the Soviet Union in World War II. According to historians, Soviet prisoners of war, communists, Ukrainian nationalists were also killed in the massacre.
Taking to Twitter, the president wrote, "To the world: what is the point of saying «never again» for 80 years, if the world stays silent when a bomb drops on the same site of Babyn Yar? At least 5 killed. History repeating." It is worth mentioning that the country has been witnessing a full-scale invasion of Russian forces since February 24, after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched what he called a military operation against its neighbouring country, Ukraine. According to Kyiv's Interior Ministry adviser Anton Herashchenko, at least ten people were killed and 35 others were injured after a rocket hit Ukraine's second-biggest city Kharkiv on Tuesday. As per Herashchenko, the building was hit by a cruise missile.
"Russian troops do not carry out any strikes on civilian infrastructure", claims Kremlin
"Freedom Square was hit by a cruise missile. There was a second hit by a similar rocket that hit the building after the rescuers arrived (in 5-7 minutes). One-third of the administration building fell," Herashchenko said. However, reacting to the "allegations", Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied the reports of attacking infrastructure, residential areas in Ukraine and said Russian troops do not carry out any strikes on civilian infrastructure facilities and on a residential complex. Visuals and on-ground assessments render these proclamations as hollow.
4,300 Russian troops killed
Since Russian troops engaged in a deadly war with its neighbouring country, they have reportedly captured several strategic locations in Ukraine. According to the data presented by Ukraine’s Interior Ministry, at least 352 Ukrainian civilians have died in the Russian invasion including 14 children. On the other hand, Ukrainian Ambassador to United Nations, Sergiy Kyslytsya, during the UNGC meeting, claimed nearly 4,300 Russian troops killed and over 200 were taken as prisoners of war-- a claim that Russia denied.
Image: Twitter/@ZelenskyyUa
00:14 IST, March 2nd 2022