Russian Military Truck Runs Over Passenger Vehicle Killing 3, Including Child

A Russian military vehicle ran over a passenger car in Ukraine's partially occupied Zaporizhzhia region this week, killing three people, including a child, according to Ukrainian officials.

Melitopol Mayor Ivan Fedorov said in statement posted on the online messaging service Telegram that the truck ran over a car that contained a family on the highway between the occupied Ukrainian cities of Melitopol and Berdiansk Monday, according to news outlet Pravda. International Business Times could not independently verify the information.

Fedorov identified the truck as a military vehicle manufactured by Russian automotive company Kamaz.

Two adults and a child died on the spot, according to the official.

It was unclear if the truck deliberately ran over the passenger car.

"[This is] something that cannot even be called an atrocity, because the Rashists are definitely not people and worse than the wildest animals. I hope they will find hell in their lives from our military," Fedorov said in the statement.

Rashist, a combination of the words "Russian," "racist" and "fascist," is frequently used to describe Russian troops.

The Russian Armed Forces currently operate several vehicles developed and/or produced by Kamaz, including cargo trucks, armored fighting vehicles and missile carriers, among others.

A total of 5,237 civilians, including 348 children, were killed in Ukraine between the start of Russia's invasion on Feb. 24 and Sunday, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said in its most recent casualty report.

At least 7,035 civilians in the country were injured within the same period, according to the agency.

"Most" of the civilian casualties were caused "by the use of explosive weapons with wide area effects, including shelling from heavy artillery, multiple launch rocket systems, missiles and air strikes," the OHCHR said.

The U.N. office believes the actual civilian casualty figures in Russia's ongoing invasion are "considerably higher" due to information delays as well as the need for many reports to be verified.

Russian forces have repeatedly been accused of deliberately targeting civilians in its invasion of Ukraine. However, Russia has denied or deflected responsibility for the reported attacks on civilians.

Killing, torturing or taking hostage of non-combatants in war is a violation of the Geneva Conventions.

Meanwhile, "extensive destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity [and] carried out unlawfully and wantonly," is considered a war crime under Article 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.