Photo of Bloodied Baby Carriage Shows Carnage of Russian Missile Attack

Ukraine's Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba shared an image of a bloodied baby carriage following a Russian cruise missile strike on the Ukrainian city of Vinnytsia on Thursday, saying that at least 20 people had been killed.

Russia continues to carry out missile strikes across Ukraine despite focusing most of its military efforts on the eastern Donbas region of the country. President Vladimir Putin launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, drawing swift international condemnation. Thousands of civilians have reportedly been killed since the war began as millions of Ukrainians have been internally displaced or have fled to other countries as refugees.

"Already 20 civilians have been confirmed dead following a Russian missile strike on Vinnytsia. Three children, including a toddler in the photo. This is terrorism. Deliberate murder of civilians to spread fear. Russia is a terrorist state and must be legally recognized as such," Kuleba tweeted Thursday.

The post included a disturbing image of what appeared to be a toddler's legs next to a tipped-over stroller. Part of the image was blurred out, so the body and the face of the child could not be seen. Blood was visible on the legs, the ground and on a white piece of fabric draped partially over the baby carriage and the body. The foot of another person—who was also apparently killed in the attack—was visible next to the stroller.

Ukraine's national police reported that an office building was struck by three Russian missiles, resulting in damage to nearby residential buildings as well, CBS News reported. Vinnytsia is located some 167 miles southwest of Ukraine's capital, Kyiv. As of the time of writing, the BBC reported that at least 22 people were killed in the attack, citing local officials.

"Every day, Russia kills civilians, kills Ukrainian children, carries out missile attacks on the civilian facilities where there is no military target. What is this, if not an open act of terrorism?" Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a social media post following the missile strikes.

"There were eight rockets, two of which hit the center of the city. Twenty people have died, including three children. There is a large, large number of wounded," Zelensky explained during an address to European officials in The Hague, Netherlands, on Thursday.

Many others shared images of the bloody stroller on Twitter. Photos posted to social media also showed burned-out cars as local authorities attempted to put out fires and respond to the attack.

Newsweek reached out to the Russian foreign ministry for comment.

Russia has repeatedly denied targeting civilians in Ukraine. But independent journalists have documented atrocities—including incidents of civilians appearing to have been shot in the back of their head with their hands tied behind their backs. Mass graves have also been uncovered.

More than 10,000 civilians have been killed in Ukraine since the outset of Russia's invasion, according to the United Nations. Michelle Bachelet, United Nations high commissioner for human rights, has raised concerns that Russia is not complying with international law in the war.

"With daily killings, widespread destruction, arbitrary detention and mass displacement, civilians were bearing the brunt of hostilities that seemingly had no end in sight. The high numbers of civilian casualties and the extent of destruction caused to civilian infrastructure continued to raise significant concerns that attacks conducted by Russian armed forces were not complying with international humanitarian law," a July 5 press release from the commissioner's officer said.