Photos: Calls for war crime investigation intensify as Russia targets western Ukraine

By Nicole Werbeck,

Marco Storel

Published March 6, 2022 at 12:02 PM EST

<strong>March 11:</strong> Passengers file out of the railway station in Lviv, Ukraine, after disembarking trains from the east. — **March 11:** Passengers file out of the railway station in Lviv, Ukraine, after disembarking trains from the east.

Updated March 11, 2022 at 1:05 PM ET

The United Nations' refugee agency says Russia's invasion of Ukraine has already prompted more than 2.5 million people to flee the war, sparking the fastest-growing refugee crisis in Europe since World War II.

Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers met for high-level negotiations in Antalya, Turkey, on Thursday. The talks came after Ukrainian officials said that three people had died in a Russian airstrike that devastated a maternity and children's hospital complex in Mariupol. Russian officials acknowledged that a strike had been carried out but insisted the facility was being used as a paramilitary base.

The White House has called for an investigation into whether Russia has committed war crimes in its invasion of Ukraine, and many experts have told NPR that there is "undoubtable" evidence to make that case.

In an interview on NPR's Morning Edition on Friday, though, a spokesperson for the Pentagon said the U.S. is unwilling to enforce a no-fly zone over Ukraine out of the fear that that would lead to an escalation of the conflict.

Here's a look at the latest on the ground:

<strong>March 11:</strong> A Ukrainian man in camouflage stands next to snow-covered body bags in the yard of a morgue in Mykolaiv, Ukraine, which sits on the shores of the Black Sea and has been under attack by Russian forces for days. — **March 11:** A Ukrainian man in camouflage stands next to snow-covered body bags in the yard of a morgue in Mykolaiv, Ukraine, which sits on the shores of the Black Sea and has been under attack by Russian forces for days.

<strong>March 11:</strong> Firefighters spray water onto a destroyed shoe factory following an airstrike in Dnipro, Ukraine. Russian forces shelled a number of civilian targets Friday, leaving at least one dead, emergency services said, in what appeared to be the first direct attack on the city. — **March 11:** Firefighters spray water onto a destroyed shoe factory following an airstrike in Dnipro, Ukraine. Russian forces shelled a number of civilian targets Friday, leaving at least one dead, emergency services said, in what appeared to be the first direct attack on the city.

<strong>March 10:</strong> A member of the Ukrainian military holds the burnt remains of Russian passports in Irpin, Ukraine. — **March 10:** A member of the Ukrainian military holds the burnt remains of Russian passports in Irpin, Ukraine.

<strong>March 10:</strong> Residents of Irpin and Bucha, Ukraine, flee the fighting across a destroyed bridge in Irpin. — **March 10:** Residents of Irpin and Bucha, Ukraine, flee the fighting across a destroyed bridge in Irpin.

<strong>March 10:</strong> A volunteer takes a break in the Science Center in Ternopil, Ukraine. The center has become the a staging ground for volunteers to gather and distribute supplies for internally displaced persons, and to other cities and towns experiencing humanitarian catastrophe. — **March 10:** A volunteer takes a break in the Science Center in Ternopil, Ukraine. The center has become the a staging ground for volunteers to gather and distribute supplies for internally displaced persons, and to other cities and towns experiencing humanitarian catastrophe.

<strong>March 11:</strong> People enter and leave an underground walkway during an air-raid siren in Lviv, Ukraine. — **March 11:** People enter and leave an underground walkway during an air-raid siren in Lviv, Ukraine.

<strong>March 11:</strong> Women with small children fleeing the invasion settle in at the Lviv, Ukraine, train station. — **March 11:** Women with small children fleeing the invasion settle in at the Lviv, Ukraine, train station.

<strong>March 11:</strong> Mourns pay their last respects as a woman (L) grieves during the funeral of a man killed in shelling at a cemetery in Mykolaiv, a city on the shores of the Black Sea that has been under Russian attack for days. — **March 11:** Mourns pay their last respects as a woman (L) grieves during the funeral of a man killed in shelling at a cemetery in Mykolaiv, a city on the shores of the Black Sea that has been under Russian attack for days.

<strong>March 10:</strong> Residents of Irpin and Bucha, Ukraine, who are fleeing the area are helped out of a truck by members of the Ukrainian military as they prepare to cross a destroyed bridge in Irpin. — **March 10:** Residents of Irpin and Bucha, Ukraine, who are fleeing the area are helped out of a truck by members of the Ukrainian military as they prepare to cross a destroyed bridge in Irpin.

<strong>March 9:</strong> Ukrainian emergency employees and volunteers carry an injured pregnant woman from a maternity hospital in Mariupol, Ukraine. Ukrainian officials say Russian forces shelled the building in the besieged port city. — **March 9:** Ukrainian emergency employees and volunteers carry an injured pregnant woman from a maternity hospital in Mariupol, Ukraine. Ukrainian officials say Russian forces shelled the building in the besieged port city.

<strong>March 9:</strong> A man rides a bicycle in front of an apartment building that was damaged by shelling in Mariupol, Ukraine. — **March 9:** A man rides a bicycle in front of an apartment building that was damaged by shelling in Mariupol, Ukraine.

<strong>March 9:</strong> A man carries his child away from a damaged maternity hospital in Mariupol, Ukraine. — **March 9:** A man carries his child away from a damaged maternity hospital in Mariupol.

<strong>March 10:</strong> Residents evacuate the city of Irpin, Ukraine, north of Kyiv. Russian forces rolled their armored vehicles up to the northeastern edge of the besieged country's capital city, edging closer in their attempts to encircle the capital. — **March 10:** Residents evacuate Irpin, Ukraine, north of Kyiv, the capital. Russian forces rolled their armored vehicles up to the northeastern edge of the besieged country's capital, edging closer in their attempts to encircle Kyiv.

<strong>March 10:</strong> A resident sits in a basement for shelter in the city of Irpin, Ukraine. Kyiv's northwest suburbs, including Irpin and Bucha, have endured shellfire and bombardments for more than a week, prompting massive evacuation efforts. — **March 10:** A resident sits in a basement for shelter in Irpin. Kyiv's northwest suburbs, including Irpin and Bucha, have endured shellfire and bombardments for more than a week, prompting massive evacuation efforts.

<strong>March 10:</strong> A destroyed tank is seen after battles between Ukrainian and Russian forces on a main road near Brovary, north of Kyiv, Ukraine. — **March 10:** A tank sits destroyed after battles between Ukrainian and Russian forces on a main road near Brovary, north of Kyiv.

<strong>March 9:</strong> Ukrainian servicemen get ready to depart in the direction of Kyiv at the central train station in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv. — **March 9:** Ukrainian servicemen get ready to depart in the direction of Kyiv at the central train station in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv.

<strong>March 10:</strong> A resident stands in a basement for shelter in the city of Irpin, north of Kyiv. — **March 10:** A resident stands in a basement for shelter in Irpin.

<strong>March 10:</strong> A man who was injured by shelling near his home is treated at a hospital in Brovary, north of Kyiv, Ukraine. — **March 10:** A man who was injured by shelling near his home is treated at a hospital in Brovary.

<strong>March 9:</strong> Smoke rise after shelling in Mariupol, Ukraine. — **March 9:** Smoke rises after shelling in Mariupol.

<strong>March 9:</strong> Ukrainians cross an improvised path under a destroyed bridge while fleeing Irpin, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine. — **March 9:** Ukrainians cross an improvised path under a destroyed bridge while fleeing Irpin.

March 9: Ukrainians enter a bus as they are evacuated from Irpin, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine. — **March 9:** Ukrainians board a bus as they are evacuated from Irpin.

<strong>March 8:</strong> This picture shows an apartment destroyed after shelling the day before in Ukraine's second-biggest city of Kharkiv. — **March 8:** This apartment was destroyed by shelling the day before in Ukraine's second-biggest city, Kharkiv.

<strong>March 8:</strong> A woman makes a call to relatives in a underground metro station used as a bomb shelter in Kyiv. — **March 8:** A woman makes a call to relatives in an underground metro station being used as a bomb shelter in Kyiv.

<strong>March 8:</strong> Family react during a service at Lychakiv cemetery during a joint funeral for two soldiers who died in the east of the country during recent fighting, in Lviv, Ukraine. The two servicemen, Victor, 44 who was killed in the Mykolaiv region and Ivan, 25, who was killed in the Zaporizhzhia region were laid to rest at the Lychakiv cemetery. — **March 8:** Family members grieve during a service at Lychakiv Cemetery in Lviv, Ukraine, during a joint funeral for two soldiers who died during recent fighting. The two servicemen were Victor, 44, who was killed in the Mykolaiv region, and Ivan, 25, who was killed in the Zaporizhzhia region.

<strong>March 8:</strong> A joint funeral takes place at 'Saint's Peter and Paul Garrison Church', for two soldiers who died in the east of the country during recent fighting, in Lviv, Ukraine. — **March 8:** A joint funeral takes place at Saints Peter and Paul Garrison Church in Lviv for two soldiers who died during recent fighting in Ukraine's east.

<strong>March 8:</strong> A man walks between houses destroyed during air strikes on the central Ukranian city of Bila Tserkva. Russia stepped up its bombing campaign and missile strikes on Ukraine's cities, destroying two residential buildings in a town west of Kyiv with the city of Bila Tserkva to the south of the capital also hit. — **March 8:** A man walks between houses destroyed during airstrikes on the central Ukrainian city of Bila Tserkva. Russia had stepped up its bombing campaign and missile strikes on Ukraine's cities.

<strong>March 8:</strong> Ukrainian serviceman walks past the vertical tail fin of a Russian Su-34 bomber lying in a damaged building in Kharkiv, Ukraine. — **March 8:** A Ukrainian serviceman walks past the vertical tail fin of a Russian Su-34 bomber standing in a damaged building in Kharkiv.

<strong>March 8:</strong> An elderly woman is coated in snow as she sits in a wheelchair after being evacuated from Irpin, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine. — **March 8:** An elderly woman is coated in snow as she sits in a wheelchair after being evacuated from Irpin.

<strong>March 7:</strong> A father puts his hand on the window as he says goodbye to his daughter in front of an evacuation train at the central train station in Odessa, Ukraine. Odessa, which Ukraine fears could be the next target of Russia's offensive in the south, is the country's main port and is vital for its economy. — **March 7:** A father puts his hand on the window of an evacuation train as he says goodbye to his daughter at the central train station in Odesa. The city is the site of Ukraine's main port, which is vital to the country's economy.

Photos: Calls for war crime investigation intensify as Russia targets western Ukraine

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