We have witnessed Chernihiv being brutally cut off – from all humanitarian aid and from the outside world. The city has been bombed for weeks with Russian troops closing in and encircling it. There have been so many airstrikes and so many artillery shellings that many survivors say they have not been able to get out of their underground shelters – day or night – in the last fortnight. The city electricity has been cut off. There is little water, no heating and the food runs out quickly. Image: Smoke rises over Chernihiv as the sun sets – the last route out of the besieged city is now closed as all bridges have been bombed Live Ukrainian news: Russian commander ‘killed or wounded by his own troops’ We saw the indiscriminate and terrifying Russian bombardment of civilians, doctors and rescue workers at the last crossing point over the Dessna River, where they had gathered to seek safety. Volunteer soldiers and rescuers were frantically trying to guide people to the last pedestrian bridge connecting Chernihiv to the main route leading to the capital Kyiv. At this stage, Russian troops were closed on three sides of the city and during the night they had bombed the main transport bridge. Picture: Rich smoke rises above Chernihiv A stream of vehicles, ambulances and emergency crews ran over a dusty and swampy farmland to reach the crossing. The humanitarian convoy, which was receiving help and hoping to evacuate the civilians, was forced to cross a huge open area where any movement of vehicles was attacked. The window on this narrow escape corridor to the southeast of the city closed quickly as we arrived with the escort just before dusk. Read more: Russia to focus on “liberation” of Donbass, says first phase of invasion mostly over Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player 6:46 People flee as Chernihiv bridge bombed We saw groups of citizens with their bags waiting patiently for vehicles that could transport them out of this small, wooded riverbank. There were rows of others, with backpacks running along the field and away from the river and the city. Suddenly, a barrage of rockets rained down on the area, sending everyone to the ground. Then a mad panic ensued as dozens of vehicles hurriedly turned and tried to make their way through the trees and return to the open field. We saw the lines of civilians now spread out on the ground, then quickly gathering and moving away with new urgency from their homes and city. But the attacks did not stop. The Russians had already hit the pedestrian bridge, but as civilians and emergency vehicles quickly evacuated, the blows followed. Dissatisfied with the destruction of a route outside the besieged city, the Russian army wanted to inflict so many deaths and injuries on those trying to flee. Image: Volunteer soldiers discuss the best way to return to the city to help evacuate more civilians Chernihiv is of strategic importance because it is being slapped on the northern route chosen by Russia to advance into the capital. The city is located on the river Desna about 150 kilometers (93 miles) north, northeast of Kiev. Russian troops spent last month trying to bulldozer through the ancient city, which has monuments and churches dating back centuries. But without submission from the city or its inhabitants, the Russian army seems ready to starve and bomb it to surrender. Inside Chernihiv, the mayor managed to film part of the disaster and there are bombed houses and buildings burning everywhere. There are still about 150,000 people trapped in the city. “We can not deal with all our dead,” says the mayor. “It’s a massacre.” Another official told us by telephone: “They are trying to create as much humanitarian disaster as possible. They cannot defeat us militarily, so they are trying to force us to give up.” Image: Volunteer soldiers lie down for the night in a basement in a village just outside Chernihiv Those who can, reach the nearby villages and communities south of the city. But even here, the sounds of bombings and bombings continue throughout the night. Along with most of the village, we retreat with a group of volunteer soldiers to an old basement gym for the night. The volunteer soldiers asked for their identities to be kept secret. They take the opportunity to catch their breath and many call home to talk to their families. Image: Volunteer soldiers try to evacuate civilians from besieged city “My heart breaks,” says one Ukrainian army paratrooper for more than a decade, but then he trained as a lawyer and took up arms again to fight for his country. They are all from Chernihiv. It is a city they love and call home. Among them are a dentist, a PE teacher, a gardener and a former convict, who says with a smile: “I am a robber. I was in prison before. “Now I’m trying to save my country.” Another who organizes humanitarian aid and evacuation convoys from the city tells us: “How can I explain the importance of human life. What is more important than saving the lives of children, little girls and boys. Nothing makes us do this “That’s exactly what we need to do.” Away from their families, they save the lives of others. Picture: A bus was hit as it tried to evacuate people from Chernihiv The next morning, we head back with them to the open field and to the pedestrian crossing point. But it is clear that Chernihiv received a blow overnight. There are banks of vehicles and doctors lined up in the nearest village hoping to get in or near to help the injured or just provide transportation to those citizens who manage to get out. But there is no and no vehicle trying to pass is under fire. As we reach the beginning of the open field, a yellow van that has been converted into a mobile emergency vehicle and has large red crosses painted over its hood, rises in front of us. We can see the driver having black soot all over his face and nostrils. He has a cut on his forehead and looked shaky. “I need help,” he says. He finds it difficult to get out of his truck and we can see his left leg of his pants soaked in blood. He limps. “This is not so serious,” he says, gesturing to his foot. “I have another wound on my side. It is serious. I can not breathe.” Image: An ambulance named Yuri was bombed trying to help evacuate the city. He has a lot of shrapnel wounds and asks the Sky team to help him One of our team, producer Jake Jacobs, pulls out his medical kit to see if he can help. The man, who claims to be Yuri Zebrovsky and a former paramedic in the Ukrainian army, has been shot in the leg. He will need surgery, but Jake patches him. He looks at his wound in the chest and more shrapnel seems to have pierced his lung. You will need hospital care and more surgery for this as well. He says he was parked near the bombed-out footbridge, hoping to pick up any civilians who could cross when the attack took place. “It was about 15 minutes ago,” he says. “I saw damaged cars; damaged civilian cars,” he explains, “everything was burned, completely destroyed and there was a dead citizen.” Picture: This way to Chernihiv, the last route out of the besieged city is now closed as all the bridges have been bombed Attacking civilians and all non-combatants, including doctors, is a potential war crime. He comes back limping in his vehicle and says from the window: “Our country needs your help. Good luck”, before giving us a signal of peace and we leave. In one of the farmers’ fields, a few kilometers away, we find a spread case of scattering bombs. We consulted with several independent experts, including the Bellingcat investigative journalism team, as well as Human Rights Watch and Jane’s Defense. Bellingcat founder Eliot Higgins is compiling a dossier mapping the use of cluster bombs in Ukraine during this war. He told Sky News: “These are the remnants of the 220mm 9M27K rocket launcher used by the BM-27 Urugan multi-rocket launcher. It has been widely used throughout Ukraine. Both sides are handling it, but you can tell in which direction. were fired based on the direction in which those stuck on the ground point “. Based on the angle of the tail fins and dispersion ammunition containers, the dispersal bombs appear to have been fired from the direction of the Russian front lines around Chernihiv. Scattering containers usually land in front of the point where the ammunition has fallen, according to experts who place the target and landing areas of the scattering bombs mainly above the ancient city. Image: A cluster bomb was found a few kilometers away in a farmer’s field Scattering ammunition, Bellingcat says, develops a large number of smaller ammunition over a target that then spreads and explodes over a large area, increasing the chances of casualties. They are often criticized as weapons that pose an immediate threat to civilians during the conflict and are considered particularly dangerous because of the “long-term” problems if they do not explode during the first collision. Although more than a hundred countries have agreed to ban their use, neither Ukraine nor Russia has signed the treaty. However, both are bound by international humanitarian law that prohibits the use …
