Ukrainian boy has severe burns over nearly 50% of body 'after Russian strike'
A seven-year-old boy was left with severe burns over almost half of his body, a broken hand and shrapnel in his head following a Russian missile strike, a Ukrainian government official has said.
On Wednesday, foreign affairs minister Emine Dzheppar tweeted an image of a child, named Roman, lying in a hospital bed. His entire face is wrapped in bandages and numerous tubes trail from his body.
Roman was injured after three long range ballistic missiles hit the city of Vinnytsia on July 14, according to Ms Dzheppar.
The minister said he has "severe burns (45% of the body - external burns, 35% - internal)...his dad found out that his wife died 3 days ago after DNA expertise."
At least 24 people died in the Vinnytsia strike, including a four-year-old travelling to see a speech therapist.
Liza Dmytrieva, who had Down's syndrome, fled from Kyiv with her family shortly after the war started five months ago. Until July 14, Vinnytsia was considered to be relatively safe.
After the strike, Ukraine’s emergency services shared photos of Liza's lifeless body lying next to her blood-stained stroller.
Other heart-wrenching images have emerged from Ukraine over the past week, one being that of a father holding his lifeless son's hand.
The unnamed 13-year-old had been waiting at a bus stop in Kharkiv with his 15-year-old sister when they were struck by a Russian missile. His sister was injured and taken to hospital, emergency services said, while a 69-year-old man and a 68-year-old woman were killed in the same attack.
The shelling was carried out using the "Hurricane" salvo rocket systems, Kharkiv's regional prosecutor's office said.Amid such stark images of civilian bloodshed, Russia has suggested it plans to grab broader areas beyond the region of eastern Ukraine known as the Donbas.
Foreign minister Sergey Lavrov emphasised on Wednesday that Moscow also claims the Kherson region and part of Zaporizhzhia and will “continuously and persistently” expand its gains elsewhere.
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