Russian Troops Open Fire On Protesters In Kherson

Russian troops occupying Ukraine have opened fire on anti-war protesters at a demonstration in the southern city of Kherson.

Footage from the area shared on social media shows protesters fleeing the city's Freedom Square while Russian soldiers appear to be using stun grenades and firing automatic weapons.

Smoke can be seen filling the square and footage has indicated there are casualties as a result of the attack, while Ukraine's foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba condemned the situation as he wrote: "In Kherson, Russian war criminals opened fire at unarmed people who peacefully protested against invaders.

"You can see a wounded pensioner. This is the ugly face of Russia, a disgrace to humankind.

"We must stop Russia! Sanction them, isolate them, hold war criminals to account."

Twitter/@ukraine_today

According to Yuriy Sobolevsky, deputy chairman of Kherson, the most serious casualty was a pensioner whose leg was badly hurt, i News reports

Sobolevsky wrote on Facebook: "They tried to disperse a peaceful rally in Kherson today by force. Cannon-air, gas, light noise grenades."

Kherson has been home to a number of protests since Russian forces captured the city earlier this month, when it became the largest city in the country to be taken over by the invading force.

News of the attack on protesters comes after residents in the city of Kherson were filmed peacefully confronting two military vehicles with 'Z' symbols painted on them - a letter which has become associated with Russia's military.

In footage shared online, protesters can be heard chanting for those inside the vehicles to 'go home' as they marched bravely towards them, prompting the vehicles to reverse and ultimately turn around around to seemingly depart the area.

Officials in Ukraine sought to deliver humanitarian aid to residents in the city, but deputy prime minister Iryna Vereshchuk said the supplies could not be delivered after trucks were stopped along the way by Russian troops.

In a first-hand account written for The Guardian on Saturday 19 March, two female journalists described how a 'humanitarian disaster' was unfolding in the city.

"There is practically nothing. Only dietary supplements remain in pharmacies," they wrote. "The deputy prime minister of Ukraine, Iryna Vereshchuk, said routes for the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Kherson and Luhansk regions are being worked out. We hope and wait.

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"Today we will go to the daily rally. We are looking for a creative idea."

Vereshchuk announced on Saturday that 'ten humanitarian corridors have been agreed upon to evacuate residents of settlements affected by the Russian invasion' including a corridor from Mariupol to Zaporizhzhia and one from the village of Bervytsya to the city of Brovary.

The deputy PM urged residents to use the corridors, saying: "Residents of settlements, please be attentive. Because it is extremely difficult to open the corridors, the enemy insidiously breaks our agreements.

"Please, if there is an opportunity, use it today."

Fighting in Ukraine has been going on for nearly an entire month, with Vladimir Putin having first sent troops across the border on 24 February.

If you would like to donate to the Red Cross Emergency Appeal, which will help provide food, medicines and basic medical supplies, shelter and water to those in Ukraine, click here for more information 

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