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

NPR

By Nicole Werbeck,

Marco Storel

Published March 7, 2022 at 10:03 PM EST

<strong>March 7:</strong> A woman looks on as she flees the city of Irpin, west of Kyiv, Ukraine. — March 7: A woman looks on as she flees the city of Irpin, west of Kyiv, Ukraine.

Updated March 7, 2022 at 1:51 PM ET

The United Nations' refugee agency says Russia's invasion of Ukraine has already prompted more than 1.5 million people to flee the war, turning the invasion into the fastest-growing refugee crisis in Europe since World War II.

Russia and Ukraine held a third round of talks Monday. The Russian Defense Ministry announced it would initiate cease-fires in some Ukrainian cities to create corridors for refugees to pass safely through, but many of those led to Russia or Belarus, where the numbers of people fleeing are low.

Just 11 days into the war, Ukrainians continue to flow into Poland and other neighboring countries.

The majority, more than 800,000, have crossed into Poland.

Take a look.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

<strong>March 6:</strong> An Irpin factory and store burn after having been bombarded. The city of 60,000 sits on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine. — March 6: An Irpin factory and store burn after having been bombarded. The city of 60,000 sits on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine.

<strong>March 7: </strong>Residents of Irpin, Ukraine, flee heavy fighting across a ruined bridge as Russian forces enter the city. Sunday, four civilians were killed by mortar fire along the road leading from Irpin to Kyiv, which has been a key evacuation route for people fleeing Russian forces advancing from the north. — March 7: Residents of Irpin, Ukraine, flee heavy fighting across a ruined bridge as Russian forces enter the city. Sunday, four civilians were killed by mortar fire along the road leading from Irpin to Kyiv, which has been a key evacuation route for people fleeing Russian forces advancing from the north.

<strong>March 7:</strong> Strollers sit, abandoned, under a ruined bridge as people flee the city of Irpin, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine. — March 7: Strollers sit, abandoned, under a ruined bridge as people flee the city of Irpin, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine.

<strong>March 7:</strong> Ukrainian soldiers and militiamen carry a woman in a wheelchair as artillery echoes nearby, while people flee Irpin on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine. — March 7: Ukrainian soldiers and militiamen carry a woman in a wheelchair as artillery echoes nearby, while people flee Irpin on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine.

<strong>March 7: </strong>People holding their children struggle to get on a train to Lviv at the station in Kyiv, Ukraine. Russia announced yet another cease-fire and a handful of humanitarian corridors to allow civilians to flee Ukraine. Previous announcements quickly fell apart as Moscow's forces continued to pummel some Ukrainian cities with rockets Monday. — March 7: People holding their children struggle to get on a train to Lviv at the station in Kyiv, Ukraine. Russia announced yet another cease-fire and a handful of humanitarian corridors to allow civilians to flee Ukraine. Previous announcements quickly fell apart as Moscow's forces continued to pummel some Ukrainian cities with rockets Monday.

<strong>March 6: </strong>A Ukrainian woman dressed in military attire prays inside the Saints Peter and Paul Garrison Church in Lviv, Ukraine. — March 6: A Ukrainian woman dressed in military attire prays inside the Saints Peter and Paul Garrison Church in Lviv, Ukraine.

<strong>March 6:</strong> Hanna Bespalko, 54, center, cries over the body of Denys Hrynchuk in Bila Krynytsia, in Ukraine's Chernivtsi region. Hrynchuk served in the Ukrainian army. He was killed on Feb. 28, near Volnovakha, in the Donetsk region. He is survived by his mother, five brothers and a sister, his wife and his one-year-old son. — March 6: Hanna Bespalko, 54, center, cries over the body of Denys Hrynchuk in Bila Krynytsia, in Ukraine's Chernivtsi region. Hrynchuk served in the Ukrainian army. He was killed on Feb. 28, near Volnovakha, in the Donetsk region. He is survived by his mother, five brothers and a sister, his wife and his one-year-old son.

<strong>March 6: </strong>Volunteers at the Frankivsk administration building provide food, information and assistance with accommodation and onward travel in Lviv, Ukraine. — March 6: Volunteers at the Frankivsk administration building provide food, information and assistance with accommodation and onward travel in Lviv, Ukraine.

<strong>March 7: </strong>A resident shelters by candle light in the basement of a building in Irpin, Ukraine, as Russian forces moved through the city. Ukraine rejected a Russian proposal for a humanitarian corridor from Kyiv to Belarus, a Russian ally that was a staging ground for the invasion. — March 7: A resident shelters by candle light in the basement of a building in Irpin, Ukraine, as Russian forces moved through the city. Ukraine rejected a Russian proposal for a humanitarian corridor from Kyiv to Belarus, a Russian ally that was a staging ground for the invasion.

<strong>March 6:</strong> The faces of refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine are illuminated by the light from a phone as they join a line approaching the border with Poland in Shehyni, Ukraine. — March 6: The faces of refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine are illuminated by the light from a phone as they join a line approaching the border with Poland in Shehyni, Ukraine.

<strong>March 6:</strong> People arrive by train to Lviv, Ukraine. — March 6: People arrive by train to Lviv, Ukraine.

A family leaves for Poland while the father stays in Ukraine. Men between the ages of 18-60 are not permitted to leave Ukraine. — March 6: A family leaves for Poland while the father stays behind to fight in Ukraine. Men between the ages of 18-60 are not permitted to leave the country.

<strong>March 5:</strong> Ukrainians crowd under a destroyed bridge as they try to flee crossing the Irpin river in the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine. — March 5: Ukrainians crowd under a destroyed bridge as they try to flee crossing the Irpin river in the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine.

<strong>March 5:</strong> A Ukrainian soldier and a militia man help a fleeing family crossing the Irpin river in the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine. — March 5: A Ukrainian soldier and a militia man help a fleeing family crossing the Irpin river in the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine.

<strong>March 4:</strong> People take cover from shelling in the city of Bucha, west of Kyiv. — March 4: People take cover from shelling in the city of Bucha, west of Kyiv.

<strong>March 5:</strong> A man lies on a camp bed in a refugee reception center at the Ukrainian-Polish border crossing in Korczowa. — March 5: A man lies on a camp bed in a refugee reception center at the Ukrainian-Polish border crossing in Korczowa.

<strong>March 5:</strong> A woman sits while people cross a nearby destroyed bridge as they evacuate the city of Irpin, northwest of Kyiv. — March 5: A woman sits while people cross a nearby destroyed bridge as they evacuate the city of Irpin, northwest of Kyiv.

<strong>March 5:</strong> People sit in a car as as they evacuate the city of Irpin, northwest of Kyiv, during heavy shelling and bombing. — March 5: People sit in a car as as they evacuate the city of Irpin, northwest of Kyiv, during heavy shelling and bombing.

<strong>March 5:</strong> Servicemen of the Ukrainian Military Forces prepare their equipment to repel a tank attack on a position in the Lugansk region. — March 5: Servicemen of the Ukrainian Military Forces prepare their equipment to repel a tank attack on a position in the Lugansk region.

<strong>March 5:</strong> A woman is visible through the condensation on a window of an evacuation train at Kyiv central train station. — March 5: A woman is visible through the condensation on a window of an evacuation train at Kyiv central train station.

<strong>March 5:</strong> Civilians and aid organizations help arriving refugees at the Western Railway Station after crossing the border at Zahony-Csap as they flee Ukraine in Budapest, Hungary. — March 5: Civilians and aid organizations help arriving refugees at the Western Railway Station after crossing the border at Zahony-Csap as they flee Ukraine in Budapest, Hungary.

<strong>March 4:</strong> Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivers a video message to the people gathered for a rally in Romerberg Square in Frankfurt, Germany. — March 4: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivers a video message to the people gathered for a rally in Romerberg Square in Frankfurt, Germany.

<strong>March 4:</strong> People lie on the floor of a hospital during shelling by Russian forces in Mariupol, Ukraine. — March 4: People lie on the floor of a hospital during shelling by Russian forces in Mariupol, Ukraine.

<strong>March 4:</strong> This general view shows destroyed Russian armored vehicles in the city of Bucha, west of Kyiv. — March 4: This general view shows destroyed Russian armored vehicles in the city of Bucha, west of Kyiv.

<strong>March 4:</strong> Smoke rises from a bombed warehouse in the town of Stoyanka, west of Kyiv. — March 4: Smoke rises from a bombed warehouse in the town of Stoyanka, west of Kyiv.

Nicole Werbeck

See stories by Nicole Werbeck

Marco Storel