ITV News sees aftermath of Russian shelling of Ukrainian village of Yakivlivka which left four dead
'We are cannon fodder' Natasha tells ITV News Correspondent Dan Rivers, after her home was decimated by Russian shelling
ITV News has witnessed the aftermath of overnight Russian shelling of the Ukrainian village of Yakivlivka that left at least four people dead and decimated homes.
We spoke to Natasha, she was sheltering nine people in her home, including young children, when the shelling hit.
Shockwaves from the blast ripped through every room - lacerating those inside with glass.
"We are cannon fodder," she says.
But her thoughts are also with the Russian troops and their families back home.
"There are all these mothers who don't understand, who don't have information in Russia about what is happening here.
"Their children are being killed, they are being used as cannon fodder."
"They are cannon fodder; we are cannon fodder".
Reporting from the scene of the attack, ITV News Correspondent Dan Rivers said he saw two of the bodies being recovered in the small village south of Kharkiv, the country's second largest city.
He said the "normal Ukrainian village"- which appeared to have been targeted in an airstrike- has been an innocent casualty in the Russian invasion as it was not strategically significant.
"This is a normal Ukrainian village, which has been smashed to smithereens for no reason that I can see of," Dan Rivers said.
"There is no obvious military target here. There is no garrison of troops. There is no significant infrastructure.
"It just seems to be a normal Ukrainian village that has paid the price of this war."
Officials said the air attack happened around 11pm on Wednesday evening, with bombs destroying at least 30 homes, along with some cars.
Seven people were confirmed to be injured from the shelling, which has prompted a search and rescue mission to find those unaccounted for. Ten locals have been rescued so far.
It came after Ukrainian authorities said on Wednesday that Russia's bombardment of nearby Kharkiv left 21 people dead, with reports emerging of the city coming under more shelling overnight and into Thursday morning.
On Tuesday, the square of Kharkiv was the target of an attack by the Russian military, which left the City Hall building devastated, its windows blown out and the ceiling collapsed.
Reporting from Freedom Square in the middle of the city, Dan Rivers said it had become “completely devoid of any kind of normal life,” as residents were left in states of shock after buildings were destroyed by missile strikes.
On Tuesday, Dan Rivers reported from Kharkiv - which used to be a normal bustling city but is now an absolute shell
Although under siege, Kharkiv has not fallen, unlike Kherson, a port city of 300,000 in the south of Ukraine, which has become the largest place to fall to Russia so far.
Kherson has been overcome by invading forces, according to its mayor, leading to fears troops from Moscow could use it for amphibious landings due to its position on the Black Sea.
Elsewhere, in the strategically significant capital Kyiv, four major explosions were reported overnight, though it was not immediately clear where the explosions hit or the number of casualties.
A 40-mile long convoy of Russian military vehicles continues to advance on the city of nearly three million people, raising concerns that the equipment could be used to step up the bombardment and claim more innocent lives.
But the Ministry of Defence says the convoy, which remains over 30km from the centre, has been delayed by mechanical breakdown and heavy Ukrainian resistance.
Ukrainian officials have said that more than 2,000 civilians have died since the invasion began eight days ago, but this figure has not been independently verified.
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