Live updates: Russia invades Ukraine
Russian forces killed 132 civilians in Makariv, in the Kyiv region, the town’s mayor said on Friday as Ukrainian officials continue to assess the extent of destruction around the capital and north of the country.
Local officials collected the bodies and said they had been shot by Russian forces, Mayor Vadym Tokar told Ukraine’s Parliament TV.
Nearly all of Makariv’s infrastructure has been destroyed, he said, adding that apartment complexes and other buildings were bombed and a hospital destroyed.
“More than a month now we are without electricity, water, gas, without telephone lines. We don’t even have essential goods at home,” Tokar said.
Makariv, he said, has been hit by a “medical catastrophe,” with all doctors having been evacuated.
He also warned that people in the town need to be careful as mines are scattered in the fields.
“Our deforested areas are heavily littered with mines, and so we will work first on demining these areas before we can begin the full-fledged restoration of our infrastructure,” he said.
The town has been receiving aid and citizens are going out into the streets and doing what they can to clear the rubble, the mayor said.
Before the invasion, about 15,000 people lived in Makariv, but now fewer than 1,000 remain. Tokar said residents are gradually returning and the town is slowly recovering.
According to preliminary estimates, about 45% of Makariv has been destroyed, Tokar said.
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