More than 2,000 Ukrainian civilians killed during invasion, officials say

Ukraine’s emergency service said that the Russian invasion of the country has claimed the lives of more than 2,000 Ukrainian civilians. 

Hundreds of structures, including transport facilities, hospitals, kindergartens and homes, have also been destroyed, according to Reuters.

“Children, women and defence forces are losing their lives every hour,” the emergency service said in a statement, Reuters reported.

Earlier this week, Ukrainian officials reported a civilian death toll of more than 350 people, including at least 14 children. 

Ukraine’s defense ministry said on Sunday that roughly 4,300 Russian servicemen had been lost in the invasion.

Throughout Ukraine, civilians have taken up arms in defense of their country amid Russia’s ongoing attack. 

However, as Moscow’s military has targeted hospitals and civilian centers, the violence is widely expected to intensify in the coming days.

“Reports of Russia’s human rights abuses and violations of international humanitarian law are mounting by the hour,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the United Nations Human Rights Council on Monday.

“Russian strikes are hitting schools, hospitals, residential buildings, are destroying critical infrastructure, which provides millions of people across Ukraine with drinking water, gas to keep them from freezing to death,” he added.

A Russian military convoy stretching some 40 miles was detected in the outskirts of Kyiv earlier this week as fighting continued in other Ukrainian cities like Kharkiv. 

U.S.-based Maxar Technologies also reported a buildup of ground forces and ground attack helicopter units in southern Belarus, near the Ukrainian border.