Russia has this week widened its military offensive in Ukraine. For the first time, Russian forces have now begun striking targets in the west of the country. But as well as bombarding new cities Russia has continued its bombardment of Mariupol in the South and Sumy as well as Kharkiv to the east. Satellite images of the long-awaited Russian convoy suggest that it is now attempting to encircle the capital, Kyiv. 

Of all the deadly strikes carried out by Russia so far: the bombing of a maternity hospital in Mariupol earlier this week has perhaps sparked the most international outrage, as well as charges of a possible war crime. At least three people including a child were killed.

The Kremlin's reaction to the news of the bombing has been aggressive denial. They say it is fake news and that the hospital did not house any patients but that instead it was a base used by neo Nazis. A Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman went as far as to call the Ukrainian verison of events as "information terrorism". Russia's First Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN went a step further saying the pregnant women seen amidst the rubble in media photos were in fact staged by a Ukrainian model.

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