Three people have died and five have been injured after Russian forces shelled commercial pavilions in the market area of Ukraine’s second-largest city Kharkiv, which has been under attack since Putin’s war began.

The images show Ukrainian firefighters tackling the massive blaze that resulted from the shelling by Russian forces, which appears to have completely destroyed multiple buildings located in the market area of the city of Kharkiv, which is located in north-eastern Ukraine, yesterday (Wednesday, 16th March).

Newsflash obtained the images and a statement from the State Emergency Service (SES) of Ukraine, which said that the fire was finally put out at 4.20pm yesterday.

The SES also confirmed that the large fire had started as a result of shelling by Russian forces and that the vicious attack on the large urban area populated by civilians claimed the lives of three people and injured five others.

The mayor of Kharkiv, Ihor Terekhov, has stated that over 600 buildings in the city have been destroyed since the Russian Armed Forces began their invasion.

The shelling of Kharkiv began on 24th February 2022, when Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine in what the Kremlin is still calling a “special military operation”.

Over 600,000 people have left the city, which in normal times boasts 1.5 million inhabitants, since the beginning of the war.

The United Nations’ (UN) International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague issued a ruling at 4pm yesterday ordering Russia to immediately suspend military operations in Ukraine.

The ruling was a result of a suit filed by Ukraine on Sunday, 27th February, “accusing Russia of manipulating the concept of genocide to justify its military aggression”.

The UN said: “Although the ICJ’s verdicts are binding, news reports questioned whether Moscow would abide by the ruling, and the court has no direct means of enforcing them.”

In a tweet published shortly after the ruling, the UN’s Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres said that the majority decision “fully reinforces my repeated appeals for peace”.

The Kremlin reacted with anger after US President Joe Biden called Putin a “war criminal” for the first time yesterday while answering a question from a journalist.

The Kremlin has claimed that it is “unforgivable rhetoric”.