Moscow denies targeting civilians and says it aims to disarm Ukraine
A six-year-old was rushed to a hospital in Ukraine's Mariupol after she got badly injured in shelling by Russian forces. Her mother was pictured outside an ambulance, her father, covered in blood, was at her side. The little girl was placed onto a gurney and taken inside where a medical team fought to revive her. But she could not be saved.
"Show this to Putin. The eyes of this child, and crying doctors," said a doctor who was pumping oxygen into her, according to the Associated Press.
The child's father, in tears, was seen sitting beside the gurney holding her all this while, showed one of the graphic photos which has captured the world's attention.
The family was at a supermarket on the outskirts of the southeastern port city when the shelling started on Sunday, as per reports.
Earlier in the day, Mariupol mayor Vadym Boychenko said that heavy shelling in the city has resulted in mass casualties and left dozens injured.
Fierce fighting is continuing around Mariupol, as Russian and Russian-backed separatist forces have surrounded the southern Ukrainian city of about 400,000 people on three sides.
Russian forces are hoping to take Mariupol to complete a land corridor that would link Crimea with southern Russia, reported CNN.
More than 800,000 Ukrainians have fled the country since February 24, Europe's fastest displacement of people for decades.
Moscow denies targeting civilians and says it aims to disarm Ukraine, a country of 44 million people, in a "special military operation".
The Kremlin's decision to launch war has led to Russians being isolated and forced to queue at banks to salvage their savings.