Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday accused Russia of carrying out "an obvious policy of genocide" in his country's eastern Donbas region.
Moscow's offensive in Donbas could leave the region "uninhabited,", Mr Zelenskyy said, accusing the Russians of wanting to reduce its cities to ashes.
"All this, including the deportation of our people and the mass killings of civilians, is an obvious policy of genocide pursued by Russia," he said in his daily televised address.
Mr Zelenskyy said Russian forces were wiping some eastern towns from the face of the Earth.
“They want to turn Popasna, Bakhmut, Lyman, Lysychansk and Severodonetsk into ashes as they did with Volnovakha and Mariupol,” he said.
Mr Zelenskyy said at least nine people were killed and 19 wounded in the shelling on Thursday of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city.
Among those killed was a five-month-old baby and the infant’s father, with the child’s mother seriously injured.
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Service members of pro-Russian troops drive a tank past a destroyed residential building in the town of Popasna in the Luhansk region, Ukraine. Reuters -
Smoke and dirt rise from the city of Severodonetsk during shelling in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas. AFP -
Russian soldiers Alexander Alexeevich Ivanov and Alexander Vladimirovich Bobykin, left, attend their trial hearing in Kotelva, northeastern Ukraine. AP Photo -
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, right, meets with Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin in Kyiv, Ukraine. AP -
A man drives a GAZ-21 Volga car past a damaged building in Kharkiv, eastern Ukraine, on the 92nd day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. AFP -
Public transit workers sweep up shrapnel in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Getty Images -
Pro-Russian troops inspect an AT4 anti-tank launcher outside the town of Svitlodarsk in the Donetsk region, Ukraine. Reuters -
People inspect destroyed Russian tanks and armoured vehicles in Irpin, Ukraine. Getty Images -
A local resident pets a cat next to a destroyed house in Vilkhivka village, near Kharkiv, Ukraine. AFP -
The remains of a school in Vilkhivka village, near Kharkiv. AFP -
Widow and daughter of Andriy Vertiev, a Ukrainian serviceman, killed during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, attend his funeral at Lychakiv cemetery, Lviv, Ukraine. AFP -
Russian serviceman Vadim Shishimarin, centre, leaves a court hearing in Kyiv. EPA -
Kateryna Shelikhova, widow of Oleksandr Shelipov, 62, who was shot dead by a Russian soldier. Reuters -
A child plays against a backdrop of buildings ruined by shelling in Borodyanka, Ukraine. AP -
A Ukrainian woman in the basement of a building used as bomb shelter in Soledar, Donetsk region. AP -
Residents live in a subway station used as temporary shelter in Kharkiv. AP -
Men with salvageable material from damaged buildings after Russian bombing in Bakhmut, eastern Ukraine. AP -
A cuddly toy adorns a destroyed Russian battle tank near damaged homes in Hostomel, Ukraine. Getty Images -
A mortar explodes next to a road leading to the city of Lysychansk, in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas. AFP -
A Ukrainian army vehicle moves towards the front line at a checkpoint near Lysychansk. AFP -
A boy looks at flags honouring soldiers killed while fighting Russian troops, in Kyiv city centre. AP -
A mannequin with a fake gun is placed as bait on a roadside in the Nord Saltivka district of Kharkiv. EPA -
A man looks at a destroyed Russian tank placed as a symbol of war, in central Kyiv. AP -
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on a screen at the opening ceremony for the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Reuters -
Smoke billows from an oil refinery after an attack outside the city of Lysychansk, in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas. AFP -
A woman walks by a destroyed apartment building in Bakhmut, Donbas region. AFP -
An elderly woman stands inside her heavily damaged house after it was hit by a missile in Bakhmut. AFP -
A mother with her daughter sit inside a bus as they leave Bakhmut. AFP -
A Ukrainian soldier prepares coffee as he takes a break near an artillery position in the breakaway enclave of Donetsk, in the Donbas region. Reuters -
A Ukrainian soldier exercises near Donetsk. Reuters -
A woman displaced by incessant Russian shelling leaves a metro station where people had been living underground for months in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Getty -
A heavily damaged home spa near Ruski Tyshky village in Ukraine. Getty -
The wreckage of a Ukrainian military helicopter is transported in Kharkiv. Getty -
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Polish President Andrzej Duda in Kyiv. EPA -
Two Ukrainian national guard soldiers pay their respects at a cemetery in Kharkiv. AP -
A man pushes a wheelbarrow past a heavily damaged apartment building near Azovstal Iron and Steel Works in Mariupol. Reuters -
The burnt out shells of cars in a residential area near Azovstal Iron and Steel Works in Mariupol. Reuters -
Pro-Russian troops drive a tank in Ukraine's Donetsk region. Reuters -
A Russian soldier takes a break during an operation to demine the territory of Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol. Reuters -
Relatives and friends attend the funeral of a Ukrainian soldier killed in action, in the Odessa region city of Rozdilna. EPA -
Ukrainians wearing traditional clothing listen to their national anthem as they take part in the celebration of 'Vyshyvanka Day', an annual celebration of Ukrainian folk traditions, in Athens. AFP
He also pleaded with the West on Thursday to send multiple-launch rocket systems to Ukraine as soon as possible to give it a chance against the Russian offensive in the eastern Donbas.
“We are fighting for Ukraine to be provided with all the weapons needed to change the nature of the fighting and start moving faster and more confidently towards the expulsion of the occupiers,” Mr Zelenskyy said.
He also had harsh words for members of the EU who are resisting imposing even tougher sanctions on Russia including import of its oil and gas, the major source of revenue for Moscow.
“Putting pressure on Russia is literally a matter of saving lives," Mr Zelenskyy said.
"And every day of delay, weakness, various debates, or proposals to ‘pacify’ the aggressor at the expense of the victim means more killed Ukrainians. These are new threats to everyone on our continent.
“Of course, I’m grateful to our friends who are pushing for new sanctions. But where did those blocking the sixth package of sanctions get so much power from?
"Why do they still have the right to have so much power, including on internal European procedures?”
