A view shows residential buildings destroyed by an air strike, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in the town of Okhtyrka, in the Sumy region, Ukraine, in this handout picture released March 15, 2022. Press service of the 93rd Separate Mechanised B
A view shows residential buildings destroyed by an air strike, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in the town of Okhtyrka, in the Sumy region, Ukraine, in this handout picture released March 15, 2022. Press service of the 93rd Separate Mechanised Brigade of the Ukrainian Ground Forces/Handout via REUTERS . Reuters / UKRAINIAN GROUND FORCES

KEY POINTS

  • The Russian army shelled the city of Bilopollia on Sunday afternoon
  • Ukrainian detective Roman Babenko died at the scene due to the shelling
  • The police officer's 4-year-old son died while being transported to the hospital

The Russian military killed a Ukrainian police officer and his four-year-old son after shelling a city in Sumy Oblast, according to a report.

The Russian army launched missiles targeting the city of Bilopillia around 4:20 p.m. local time Sunday. One of the shells landed meters away from the police officer and his son. The police officer — identified as detective Roman Babenko — died on the spot. His 4-year-old son died while being transported to the hospital.

"A father and son were just passing by. A shell landed literally three meters away from them. They just ran for cover and actually did not reach the five meters. The father died on the spot, the child was not taken to hospital in time, he died on the way there," Yurii Zarko, Mayor of Myropillia, said in a comment to national public broadcaster Suspilne, per translations by Ukrainska Pravda.

Zarko also noted that the shells also hit other areas in the city center, including near a local dormitory, a cinema building and a residential building.

The Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine said it has launched a pre-trial investigation into the shelling, adding that the act violates the laws and customs of war, combined with intentional murder. The investigation is being carried out by members of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).

It is presently unclear how many Ukrainian civilians have been killed by the Russian army since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The last estimates from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), published June 5, put civilian casualties at 24,425. Among those, 8,983 were killed and 15,442 were injured.

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The death toll does not yet include the civilians who died in the flooding caused by the collapse of the Nova Kakhovka dam. The death toll from the flooding has reached 45.

The estimates also do not include the civilians who were killed by Russian shelling over the past few days. For instance, five people were killed in an attack launched last Wednesday targeting Kramatorsk and Odesa.

A residential building damaged by shelling in Bakhmut
AFP
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