Two new sets of satellite images have laid bare Vladimir Putin’s attempts to destroy Ukraine.
Much of the country has been plunged into darkness and entire neighbourhoods once home to tens of thousands of families now lie in ruin.
After two weeks of bloody war, Kremlin forces are no closer to achieving their goal of breaking the resistance of the Ukrainian defence.
But that stubbornness has led to Russia ramping up its use of indiscriminate weapons targeting civilian areas.
Western intelligence agencies have long feared that the assault may become more barbaric the longer Ukraine’s army holds out – and today there was a stark example of what that means.
A maternity hospital in Mariupol was destroyed by a powerful missile strike, bringing ‘colossal’ destruction to a site which should be out of bounds under the rules of war.
It remains unclear if anyone was killed in the blast but the Ukrainian authorities separately said 67 children have died as a result of the fighting since the invasion began.
Satellite images taken before the attack by US firm Maxar reveal the extent of the damage caused by Russian bombs after days of encirclement.
President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the hospital strike as an ‘atrocity’ and reiterated his call to Western nations to impose a no-fly zone.
In response, Mr Johnson tweeted: ‘There are few things more depraved than targeting the vulnerable and defenceless.’
He said the UK was considering more support for Ukraine to defend itself against airstrikes and would hold the Russian president to account ‘for his terrible crimes’.
MORE : Orchestra defiantly plays Ukrainian anthem in Kyiv as Russian soldiers advance
A separate set of satellite images released by Nasa showed that cities which once produced light visible from space now lie in darkness.
The first of these images, captured on February 3, shows the levels of light emitted across Ukraine prior to Russia’s invasion.
A capture from Wednesday shows the current situation, with cities plunged into the black because of power outages.
Multiple cities have suffered from loss of electricity since the invasion began.
The Ministry of Defence said on Monday that Irpin, outside Kyiv, has ‘reportedly been without heat, water or electricity for several days’, as is Mariupol.
Earlier, defence secretary Ben Wallace told the MPs that the UK was looking at whether they could supply anti-aircraft missiles as well as more anti-tank weapons.
The UK has also disclosed it believes Russia has deployed the means to use thermobaric weapons in Ukraine, warheads which produce explosions more powerful than conventional bombs but are not banned outright like nuclear weapons.
Western officials warned of their ‘serious concern’ that Vladimir Putin could use chemical weapons in Ukraine, including the potential for a ‘utterly horrific’ attack on the capital of Kyiv.
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An unnamed source said: ‘I think we’ve got good reason to be concerned about possible use of non-conventional weapons, partly because of what we’ve seen has happened in other theatres.
‘As I’ve mentioned before, for example, what we’ve seen in Syria, partly because we’ve seen a bit of setting the scene for that in the false flag claims that are coming out, and other indications as well.
‘So it’s a serious concern for us.’
Efforts to evacuate people out of the warzone have been frustrated by broken ceasefire agreements but there was some success today, with 40,000 being moved out of Mariupol, Kyiv and Kharkiv.
Russia-Ukraine war: Everything you need to know
Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine began on February 24, the country has suffered widespread damages and loss of life amid a major bombing campaign.
Over two million Ukrainian refugees have fled, as cities face shortages of food, water, heat, and medicine - with some having to resort to melting snow for water.
Countries have retaliated by imposing sanctions on Russia, while large companies like Starbucks, McDonald's, and Coca-Cola have suspended business in the country.
However, despite these economic blows, Russian President Vladimir Putin hasn't shown any signs of calling off the attack anytime soon.
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