Russian forces kill 7 including baby in southern Ukraine

Seven people including a baby girl, her 12-year-old brother and their parents were killed on Sunday by Russian shelling in southern Ukraine, officials said.

The three adults and two children were killed in the village of Shyroka Balka, Interior Minister Igor Klymenko said on messaging app Telegram, releasing pictures showing the aftermath of the shelling attack.

One photo showed a column of black smoke rising above a house.

“A husband, wife and their 23-day-old daughter were killed by enemy artillery fire,” Klymenko wrote.

The couple’s 12-year-old son was hospitalised in critical condition and later died, Klymenko said in a separate statement.

In the village of Stanislav two men aged 57 and 71 were killed, officials said, adding that a woman was wounded.

“Terrorists must be stopped. They must be stopped by force,” said Klymenko.

Kherson was one of four regions in Ukraine that Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed to have annexed last year.

Late last year, Russian troops withdrew from the city of Kherson but Moscow has continued to target settlements in the region.