On the sixth day of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Russian forces intensified their artillery bombardment of Kharkiv and Kyiv. The Ukrainian side reported dozens of civilian casualties. Russian troops continued to encircle Kyiv, while barricades were built in the city and preparations made for its defense. President Volodymyr Zelensky applied for the rapid accession of Ukraine to the European Union, and the heads of eight EU countries called for Ukraine to be a candidate country.
Warning! Some photos below contain scenes of cruelty, violence, and death that will upset more impressionable readers.
Bodies of dead Russian soldiers, after fighting near the railroad on the outskirts of Irpin in the Kyiv region
Marcus Yam / LA Times / Scanpix / LETA
Civilians cross a river on a blown-up bridge in northern Kyiv
Aris Messinis / AFP / Scanpix / LETA
Aftermath of shelling in Brovar, near Kyiv
Efrem Lukatsky / AP / Scanpix / LETA
Soldiers wearing no insignia, in the village of Nikolayevka in the self-declared DNR
Alexander Ermochenko / Reuters / Scanpix / LETA
The building of Kharkiv’s regional administration, which came under fire today. Ukrainian authorities said six bodies were recovered from the rubble.
Pavel Dorogoy / AP / Scanpix / LETA
Bodies of victims of the shelling of Freedom Square in Kharkiv. “A missile in Kharkiv’s central square – naked, undisguised terror,” President Zelensky said.
Pavel Dorogoy / AP / Scanpix / LETA
Destruction inside the administration building
Sergey Bobok / AFP / Scanpix / LETA
Results of shelling in Kharkiv
Sergey Dolzhenko / EPA / Scanpix / LETA
Residents of Kharkiv are collecting humanitarian aid
Sergey Kozlov / EPA / Scanpix / LETA
Roadblock in the center of Kyiv. The city is preparing to defend itself.
Aris Messinis / AFP / Scanpix / LETA
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is interviewed by Western journalists
Umit Bektas / Reuters / Scanpix / LETA
Mothers and children take shelter in the basement of the Okhmatdet children’s hospital in Kyiv
Roman Pilipea / EPA / Scanpix / LETA
Volunteers prepare camouflage netting for the Ukrainian military at the Ivanychuk Library in Lviv
Ethan Swope / Bloomberg / Getty Images
Civilians in Kyiv, carrying their belongings, run to the train station as air-raid sirens sound.
Emilio Morenatti / AP / Scanpix / LETA
Russian troops attacked a broadcasting tower in Kyiv; the authorities said five people were killed. Russia’s Defense Ministry had warned about the missile strike, saying it was to “suppress information attacks.”
Press Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine / AFP / Scanpix / LETA
Zookeeper Kirilo Trantin calms an elephant at the Kyiv Zoo
Emilio Morenatti / AP / Scanpix / LETA
Translations by Carol Matlack