Late Monday night, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that there would "definitely be an international tribunal" for war crimes committed by Russia after Russian forces attacked the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.
According to the Daily Mail, Zelenskyy delivered an address after Russian forces bombed Kharkiv, the country's second-largest city, killing at least 11 people and injuring dozens more.
"There will definitely be an international tribunal for this crime – it's a violation of all conventions. No one in the world will forgive you for killing peaceful Ukrainian people," he said.
Hours later, Ukraine's ambassador to the U.S. accused Russia of using vacuum bombs on the capital of Kyiv. The vacuum bombs, also known as thermobaric weapons, take oxygen from the surrounding air to create a high-temperature explosion resulting in a blast wave that lasts longer than traditional explosives.
The bombs are some of the strongest non-nuclear weapons ever developed and are deemed illegal under international law.
Earlier that day, Russian and Ukrainian delegates failed to negotiate an immediate ceasefire after talks in neighboring Belarus. French President Emmanuel Macron also had separate phone calls with Zalenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin, during which he urged them to end the conflict.
Putin previously ordered his nuclear deterrent forces to be on high alert in a televised briefing on Sunday in response to military and economic pushback from Western countries.
Six days since the war began, Russia continues its military onslaught in Ukraine. A large explosion struck central Kharkiv Tuesday morning. Video footage of the attack shows what appeared to be a rocket hitting directly in front of the city's administrative building, producing a large fireball, The New York Times reports.
While no specific number was given, the city's mayor said that multiple people were killed.
Ukraine's foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, tweeted a video of the explosion on Tuesday, captioning it, "Barbaric Russian missile strikes on the central Freedom Square and residential districts of Kharkiv."
Barbaric Russian missile strikes on the central Freedom Square and residential districts of Kharkiv. Putin is unable to break Ukraine down. He commits more war crimes out of fury, murders innocent civilians. The world can and must do more. INCREASE PRESSURE, ISOLATE RUSSIA FULLY! pic.twitter.com/tN4VHF1A9n
— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) March 1, 2022
In a Facebook post by Ukraine's emergency services agency, the organization notes that the blast also damaged the city's opera house, the philharmonic theater and a portion of a large apartment block.
"There will come a time when all war criminals, all insane dictators, will have to appear in court," the agency wrote. "And at that time, Satan will curse you for each drop of blood of Ukrainian citizens that you spilled. ..."
Related:
4 Things Christians Should Know about the Situation in Ukraine
Russia's Invasion of Ukraine Is Setting Stage for Attack on Israel, Pat Robertson Says
The Latest from Ukraine and a Biblical Call to Courage
Photo courtesy: ©Tong Su/Unsplash
Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for CrosswalkHeadlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.
