Kyiv has accused Russian forces of focusing on civilians after it stated missile strikes had focused the middle of Ukraine's second metropolis Kharkiv.

Ukraine's international affairs minister Dmitry Kulebo tweeted a video, which could be considered right here, of an explosion by the town's regional state administration constructing in Freedom Sq. that created an enormous fireball and appeared to engulf a number of automobiles driving by.

"Barbaric Russian missile strikes on the central Freedom Sq. and residential districts of Kharkiv," he wrote on Tuesday morning.

"Putin is unable to interrupt Ukraine down. He commits extra conflict crimes out of fury, murders harmless civilians," he added.

"The world can and should do extra. INCREASE PRESSURE, ISOLATE RUSSIA FULLY!"

Different social media posts sharing the video additionally described it as a missile assault.

Safety analyst Maria Avdeeva tweeted the clip, writing "grad shelling at residential areas. Putin now in whole conflict with Ukraine." Photos of the aftermath present a big crater in the course of the town whose mayor has stated there have been lifeless and wounded.

Ukraine's emergency ministry tweeted the aftermath of the explosion, saying that six individuals have been injured, "together with 1 baby," including that "the dying toll is being decided."

The blast hit at about 8 a.m. two hours after the town's curfew was lifted, in keeping with Anton Gerashchenko, an advisor to Ukraine's inside minister, in keeping with the New York Occasions.

Earlier, Kharkiv's regional head, Oleh Synehubov, had alleged that Russian forces had been focusing on residential areas with Grad missiles, which use a truck mounted artillery system which might fireplace rockets concurrently.

Synehubov wrote on the social media outlet Telegram Russian troops had fired on the "sq. in entrance of the regional state administration workplace" and that officers are "estimating casualties among the many civilian inhabitants", the BBC reported.

On Monday, not less than 9 individuals died, together with a household of 5 after Russian forces shelled a residential constructing within the metropolis.

Earlier than Tuesday's strike, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated there have been eyewitness accounts of civilians being intentionally focused in Kharkiv, utilizing jet artillery.

"It was clearly a conflict crime," he stated, "the Russians knew the place they have been capturing," referring to Monday's assault.

The Geneva Conference, which Russia has ratified, states the deliberate focusing on of civilians in an armed battle is a conflict crime.

The Worldwide Felony Courtroom's chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, has opened an investigation into Russia's invasion and claims that conflict crimes or crimes towards humanity had been dedicated in Ukraine.

Kharkiv explosion
This photograph exhibits a view of a college destroyed on account of battle not removed from the centre of Ukrainian metropolis of Kharkiv on February 28, 2022. Russian troops have been accused of focusing on civilians in Ukraine's second metropolis. SERGEY BOBOK/Getty

Replace 03/01/22, 05:30 a.m. ET: This text has been up to date with new data.