Kyiv: 440 children were killed in the war

Russian forces control areas in Donetsk, and Ukraine halts its advance in Donbass

Ukrainian children at an abandoned checkpoint in Kherson.

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Russia announced control of several areas in Donetsk yesterday, while Ukraine confirmed that it had stopped the progress of Russian forces in six locations in the Donbass region, and the Ukrainian public prosecutor stated that 440 children were killed as a result of the war.

The Russian Ministry of Defense said that "the city of Andreevka in Donetsk has been completely liberated," and that the Russian army continues its offensive in the direction of the city of Vodianoye, and also confirmed the liberation of Belogorovka and Berchi Travnya in Donetsk, and that the forces are close to controlling the city of Artemovsk.

On the other hand, the Ukrainian General Staff announced that the Ukrainian army stopped the advance of Russian forces in six different locations in the Donbass region, east of the country, and indicated that all sections of the front in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions were exposed to Russian artillery fire yesterday.

For his part, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that the West is pressuring Ukraine to continue fighting against Russia, explaining at the same time that it is necessary to avoid any kind of military confrontation between nuclear powers, even if it is related to conventional weapons only.

In addition, the Office of the Public Prosecutor of Ukraine announced that more than 1,292 children were affected in Ukraine as a result of the Russian war, explaining in a statement that, as of yesterday morning, the total number of dead children reached 440, and the number of children injured as a result of the war rose to 852 others.

He added that the numbers are not final, as efforts are underway to determine the number of victims in the areas of active attacks.

He added that most of the affected children are in the Donetsk region, numbering 424 children, explaining that a child of no more than five years old was injured in a Russian missile attack on the town of Bakhmut, in the Donetsk region.

He added that the Russian army damaged 2,719 educational institutions in Ukraine, and destroyed 332 of them completely.

For her part, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said yesterday that she wants to "form a special UN tribunal to investigate and prosecute Russia for its alleged crimes in Ukraine."

And she added in a video clip on the social networking site "Twitter": "The horrific crimes will not go unpunished," and talked about what she described as "the atrocities that were discovered in the Bucha suburb of Kyiv."

She explained that the Commission is working to find international support for the establishment of the Special Court, in addition to supporting the International Criminal Court's investigations into Russia.

She indicated that Russia needs to compensate Ukraine for the damage it has caused, and bear the costs of rebuilding the country, pointing to Russia's assets frozen due to Western sanctions, as a possible source of financing.

According to von der Leyen, assets amounting to 300 billion euros ($310 billion) from the reserves of the Russian Central Bank have been frozen, in addition to 19 billion euros from the funds of individuals and businessmen close to the Russian authorities.

The President of the European Commission confirmed that she wants to invest the money in coordination with international partners, and said that once the sanctions against Russia are lifted, these funds must be used so that Russia pays full compensation for the damage it caused in Ukraine, and estimated the size of the damage in Ukraine at 600 billion euros.

On the other hand, a source in the Spanish police confirmed that an employee of the Ukrainian embassy in Madrid was slightly injured yesterday, as a result of dealing with a booby-trapped letter, while the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that security measures will be tightened in all its embassies abroad.

• The European Commission calls for a special UN court to investigate and prosecute Russia.

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