To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.

×
Chernihiv

A man walks by residential building damaged in March 3, 2022 Russian attacks that killed 47 civilians in the Ukrainian city of Chernihiv. (Photo: Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP via Getty Images)

'Unimaginable': Russian Attack on Chernihiv Bread Line Kills At Least 10 Ukrainians

The city is the site of a March 3 attack that killed 47 civilians—many of whom were also standing in a bread queue—and that Amnesty International called a possible war crime.

A Russian attack on the Ukrainian city of Chernihiv on Wednesday killed at least 10 civilians who were reportedly queued up to purchase food.

Oleksandr Merezhko, deputy head and foreign relations chair of the Verkhovna Rada--Ukraine's parliament--tweeted that "Russians have killed more than 10 people who were standing in line to buy some bread."

Blurred video of the deadly strike shows what appears to be the bodies of numerous people lying close together on the ground beside a building in a residential neighborhood.

According toCNN, Vyacheslav Chaus, who heads the regional administration, said on Ukrainian television that "this is not the first such incoming shell, nor is it the first shelling of civilians by the enemy."

"The Russians are shelling and destroying mostly civilian infrastructure in the city of Chernihiv and other cities in the region," he added.

Chernihiv, a city of 285,000 residents located 85 miles northwest of the capital Kyiv, is encircled by Russian forces and has been subjected to sustained shelling over the course of the war. Civilian infrastructure, including residential buildings and schools, has been targeted by Russian troops.

Another 47 Chernihiv residents--many of them also lined up to buy bread--were killed in a March 3 Russian airstrike on a public square and several buildings that Amnesty International said "may constitute a war crime."

As Common Dreams recently reported, Russia's intensifying assault on Ukrainian cities and towns is exacting an increasingly heavy toll on civilians. While the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said Wednesday that 726 civilians have been killed and 1,174 others have been wounded since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, Ukrainian officials say the true toll is far higher.

Officials in the besieged southern port city of Mariupol say they have identified 2,400 civilians killed there; an adviser to the municipal government claims the actual total could be as high as 20,000.

Join Us: News for people demanding a better world


Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place.

We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference.

Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. Join with us today!

Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
russiaukrainewar crimes

A Russian attack on the Ukrainian city of Chernihiv on Wednesday killed at least 10 civilians who were reportedly queued up to purchase food.

Oleksandr Merezhko, deputy head and foreign relations chair of the Verkhovna Rada--Ukraine's parliament--tweeted that "Russians have killed more than 10 people who were standing in line to buy some bread."

Blurred video of the deadly strike shows what appears to be the bodies of numerous people lying close together on the ground beside a building in a residential neighborhood.

According toCNN, Vyacheslav Chaus, who heads the regional administration, said on Ukrainian television that "this is not the first such incoming shell, nor is it the first shelling of civilians by the enemy."

"The Russians are shelling and destroying mostly civilian infrastructure in the city of Chernihiv and other cities in the region," he added.

Chernihiv, a city of 285,000 residents located 85 miles northwest of the capital Kyiv, is encircled by Russian forces and has been subjected to sustained shelling over the course of the war. Civilian infrastructure, including residential buildings and schools, has been targeted by Russian troops.

Another 47 Chernihiv residents--many of them also lined up to buy bread--were killed in a March 3 Russian airstrike on a public square and several buildings that Amnesty International said "may constitute a war crime."

As Common Dreams recently reported, Russia's intensifying assault on Ukrainian cities and towns is exacting an increasingly heavy toll on civilians. While the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said Wednesday that 726 civilians have been killed and 1,174 others have been wounded since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, Ukrainian officials say the true toll is far higher.

Officials in the besieged southern port city of Mariupol say they have identified 2,400 civilians killed there; an adviser to the municipal government claims the actual total could be as high as 20,000.

A Russian attack on the Ukrainian city of Chernihiv on Wednesday killed at least 10 civilians who were reportedly queued up to purchase food.

Oleksandr Merezhko, deputy head and foreign relations chair of the Verkhovna Rada--Ukraine's parliament--tweeted that "Russians have killed more than 10 people who were standing in line to buy some bread."

Blurred video of the deadly strike shows what appears to be the bodies of numerous people lying close together on the ground beside a building in a residential neighborhood.

According toCNN, Vyacheslav Chaus, who heads the regional administration, said on Ukrainian television that "this is not the first such incoming shell, nor is it the first shelling of civilians by the enemy."

"The Russians are shelling and destroying mostly civilian infrastructure in the city of Chernihiv and other cities in the region," he added.

Chernihiv, a city of 285,000 residents located 85 miles northwest of the capital Kyiv, is encircled by Russian forces and has been subjected to sustained shelling over the course of the war. Civilian infrastructure, including residential buildings and schools, has been targeted by Russian troops.

Another 47 Chernihiv residents--many of them also lined up to buy bread--were killed in a March 3 Russian airstrike on a public square and several buildings that Amnesty International said "may constitute a war crime."

As Common Dreams recently reported, Russia's intensifying assault on Ukrainian cities and towns is exacting an increasingly heavy toll on civilians. While the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said Wednesday that 726 civilians have been killed and 1,174 others have been wounded since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, Ukrainian officials say the true toll is far higher.

Officials in the besieged southern port city of Mariupol say they have identified 2,400 civilians killed there; an adviser to the municipal government claims the actual total could be as high as 20,000.

russiaukrainewar crimes