Ukrainians take shelter under bridge to remain safe from Russian bombs

The ceasefire announced by Russia on March 5 to evacuate Ukrainian civilians safely came to a halt within a few hours after the Ukrainian government alleged that Russians had not stopped with the attack as promised. 

"The Russian side is not holding to the cease-fire and has continued firing on Mariupol itself and on its surrounding area," said Kyrylo Tymoshenko, the deputy head of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office. 

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On the other hand, as Russia continues to bomb every city and village around Kyiv, many Ukrainians were seen trying to flee the scene as safely as possible. With every road, building destroyed on the outskirts of Kyiv, citizens of Bucha and Irpin have become the new target now who are stuck with incessant shelling and warplanes circling over their heads, but they have no choice and are fleeing homes. 

On March 5, people were seen taking shelter under a bridge near the Irpin river, that has been nearly destroyed by Russian missiles that leads to Kyiv. 

Many civilians crossed the path with the help of Ukrainian soldiers with assault rifles who helped them climb onto buses since walking safely is no longer an option in the city. 

Emilio Morenatti, Editorial Manager and Chief Photographer for The Associated Press shared a picture of civilians under the bridge hiding from the bombing on his Twitter handle. 

Here's the tweet:

Ukrainians crowd under a destroyed bridge as they try to flee crossing the Irpin river in the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, March 5, 2022. pic.twitter.com/4OUFbemLXJ

— Emilio Morenatti (@EmilioMorenatti) March 5, 2022

Ukrainians fleeing into central Europe pleaded for Western nations to take tougher steps against Russia following Moscow's invasion that has created more than 1 million refugees.
At the Medyka crossing, Poland's busiest, along its roughly 500-kilometre (310-mile) border with Ukraine, refugees called for a no-fly zone over Ukraine -- something NATO powers have so far ruled out on the grounds it would risk escalating the conflict beyond Ukraine.
"Please close the sky," said Solomiya Zdryko, 18, who fled from Lviv in western Ukraine. "I know that it's not possible for us to join NATO but at least close the sky because people are dying."

Poland, whose Ukrainian community of around 1 million is the region's largest, has accepted nearly 800,000 Ukrainian refugees since the start of the Russian invasion on February 24. 

(With Agency inputs)