On 15 May, Russian invaders shot a woman and a man who were attempting to escape Vovchansk in Kharkiv Oblast, according to the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office.
On the morning of 10 May, Russia launched a new offensive in the region, opening a new front in Ukraine. Since then, according to the Ukrainian analytical project DeepState, Russian forces have occupied 174 square kilometers of territory in the region.
Law enforcement officers said that a 70-year-old man and his wife decided to evacuate from Vovchansk on their own. Another city resident joined them.
“The man found a wheelchair and placed his wife in it, as she had been having problems with her legs for a long time. The three of them set off towards Kharkiv. When the civilians were near the local hospital, the occupiers opened fire. The man who joined the couple and the woman were killed on the spot,” said prosecutors.
The Prosecutor’s Office added that the man managed to save himself and reach the outskirts of Vovchansk, where he was met by Ukrainian military personnel and taken to Kharkiv.
“The man couldn’t even take his wife’s body with him because branches got stuck in the mechanical part of the wheelchair, and it was impossible to move it from the spot. Currently, the man is safe, prosecutors have questioned him.
He said that Russian troops opened fire from a five-story building they had occupied,” added the agency.
Ukraine has initiated an investigation under Part 2 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine into violation of the laws and customs of war.
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