- [Narrator] Smoke rising through the air,
and papers scattered across the ground
as far as the eye can see.
(speaking foreign language)
This video shot by a resident shows the aftermath
of an explosion at an apartment building
in Chernihiv, Ukraine on March 3rd.
At least 47 people died in Russian bombings
in this city that day.
Many other strikes have directly hit civilians.
Schools, houses, and evacuation routes
in the country have been attacked and severely damaged,
on top of infrastructure
including this children's hospital.
- Russia's denied targeting civilians, but our reporting
in Ukraine and videos show that in fact,
civilians have been badly hit.
- [Narrator] Journal reporters
and the news intelligence agency Storyful corroborated
dozens of video clips shared
by Ukrainian officials and residents.
Analysis of those videos shows that,
despite the Kremlin's denials,
Russian forces have been hitting civilians across Ukraine
as resistance slowed their military advances.
Chernihiv is a city in Northern Ukraine,
home to more than 280,000 people.
A strategic location northeast of Kyiv, and near the border
with Belarus has led to a heavy presence
of Russian forces in the area.
Near the building seen in this footage, there's a hospital,
a hotel, shops, but no sign of Ukrainian military presence
or facilities, apart from a checkpoint manned
by a few volunteers, according to residents.
In that neighborhood, a dash cam recording posted
to social media shows the powerful explosion.
(device exploding)
Footage shows a children's playground after the blast,
as well as the remains of a pharmacy
which Google Earth images show previously looked like this.
- This is a place you, you know, go shopping, and take
your kids to to go and play in the playground a little bit.
It's a very quiet, pleasant, residential area.
- [Narrator] The woman who shot this video,
who is also a journalist, told the Wall Street Journal
that she was shopping when the attack happened.
She rushed home, where her son was with his grandmother.
- Her son and his grandmother survived, but you see,
you know, they're now in a difficult situation,
no gas, electricity, everything smashed up,
terrible destruction.
- [Narrator] The family managed to flee a few days
after the attack.
But in many cities under siege, residents say
they've been trapped, and are struggling to survive.
In the southern city of Mariupol,
there were scenes of desperation
as dead bodies could be seen uncollected on the streets.
(speaking foreign language)
Ukraine and Russia said more than once that they had agreed
on some logistics for humanitarian quarters
to let residents flee some cities, including Mariupo,
but efforts were complicated by continued fighting.
On March 9th, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was one
of several Ukrainian officials to share videos
showing a severely damaged children's hospital.
Russia's Foreign Minister said the hospital was being used
as a base by Ukrainian fighters,
a claim denied by the city's mayor.
(speaking foreign language)
Those trying to leave have also faced attacks.
According to the mayor of Irpin,
at least eight civilians were killed by shelling
during an evacuation attempt in this suburb of Kyiv.
Scenes of destruction resemble each other across Ukraine.
In Zhytomyr, which is located west of Kyiv, video shows
a school building reduced mostly to rubble on March 4th.
The footage was circulated
on a telegram channel about war videos.
- It is something of a strange target for the Russians
in the sense that it doesn't lie on the front lines.
- And in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city,
large scale destruction of residential
and historical buildings was documented for several days
in a row after Russian forces failed
to capture major urban centers.
- What the locals say is that this simply looked
like a way to try to terrify them,
to frighten them by indiscriminate bombing.
- [Narrator] Russian president Vladmir Putin has denied
that Moscow is targeting civilians.
On March 7th in a phone call with a European official,
Putin said his forces were taking steps to save
civilian lives by offering escape corridors for residents.
He also accused Kyiv of obstructing those efforts,
according to the Kremlin's account of the phone call.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly
denounced the attacks.
(speaking foreign language)
In early March, the International Criminal Court opened
an investigation into possible war crimes in Ukraine.
With bombs and missiles pounding cities across the country,
the United Nations said hundreds of civilians had died,
many more had been wounded, and millions had fled,
contributing to the worst humanitarian crisis
in Europe since World War II.
(light music)