Seven people—including a baby just 23 days old, her brother, 12, and parents—were murdered by Russian shells in southern Ukraine on Sunday.
According to Interior Minister Igor Klymenko, bombs were dropped on their home in the Kherson settlement of Shyroka Balka.
Another villager and two men from nearby Stanislav were also among the deceased.
“We must put an end to terrorists. Force must be used to stop them, according to Mr. Klymenko. “They have no other understanding.”
The minister revealed images of the attack’s aftermath in Shyroka Balka, including bodies of some of the dead that had been digitally covered and black columns of smoke rising from buildings.
Among the four Ukrainian districts that Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed to have annexed last year, Kherson was one.
The western portion of the territory was retaken by Ukrainian forces in November of last year, but Russian forces have continued to shell the sector from the other side of the Dnipro River.
Russia had accused Ukraine of “terrorism” the day before for what it claimed was an attempt to launch a missile attack on the Kerch Bridge, which connects Russia’s mainland to the Crimean Peninsula.
Despite President Volodymr Zelensky’s assertion that the bridge is a lawful target because it serves as a military supply route, Ukraine has not confirmed the attack.
In a related development, Moscow claimed to have fired warning shots at a cargo ship travelling towards the Ukrainian port of Izmail in the southwest Black Sea.
Since pulling out of a historic grain deal mediated by the UN last month, this is the first time Russia has fired on merchant cargo outside of Ukraine.
In a statement, Russia claimed that its Vasily Bykov patrol ship had opened fire with automatic weapons on the Sukru Okan ship, which was flying the flag of Palau, after the captain of the latter failed to stop the ship for an inspection.
The Sukru Okan continued towards the port of Izmail after the inspection group finished its job on board, according to the defence ministry.
Meanwhile, a representative of the exiled Ukrainian mayor of Mariupol claimed that on Sunday, fighting among Russian soldiers resulted in the deaths of numerous Ukrainian residents.
According to Petro Andryshchenko’s message on Telegram, the victims of the “shoot-out” in the village of Urzuf were two adolescent girls, four young males, and a lady.
He claimed that a dispute between Chechen soldiers and staff from the local commandant’s office led to the gunfight.