AT LEAST eight civilians, including two children, were killed in Russian airstrikes in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv province, an official said on Thursday.

Russian bombardment caused massive destruction in the city of Izyum, Anadolu Agency quoted the city’s deputy mayor Volodymyr Matsokin.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service reported a fuel tank fire caused by Russian shelling in the city of Chernihiv, roughly 125 kilometres north of the capital Kyiv.

Efforts continue to douse the flames that broke out in a warehouse containing 5,000 cubic metres of diesel fuel, it said in a statement.

According to Ukrainian authorities, over 2,000 civilians have been killed in the country since Russia launched its attacks on February 24.

As the war entered its eighth day on Thursday, the United Nations Refugee Agency said some 1 million have been forced to flee from Ukraine to neighbouring countries. – AFP, March 3, 2022.