The UN recognized the strike on Kryvyi Rih as the deadliest massacre of children during the war.

The largest killing of children during the war in Ukraine occurred on April 4 in Kryvyi Rih. This was reported by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk.

This is the deadliest strike on children that the UN has confirmed since the invasion began in 2022. It's an incredible horror - nine children were killed, most of them while playing in a park when military weaponry exploded above them. The blast took the lives of 18 people on a warm Friday evening in Kryvyi Rih, when families gathered near a playground, restaurant, and residential buildings - said Turk.

The UN Human Rights Office has established the names of the nine deceased children and documented the damage caused by military shrapnel to homes and playgrounds.

The High Commissioner stated that the use of large-area weapons by the Russian Federation to strike a densely populated area without military presence indicates 'indifference to the lives of civilians.'

Turk also refuted the Russian authorities' version of the presence of Ukrainian military in the attack area, emphasizing that a cosmetics forum was taking place on site, and there were no military personnel nearby.

The UN noted that such attacks are war crimes and violate international humanitarian law.

On April 4, a Russian ballistic missile strike in Kryvyi Rih resulted in the deaths of 18 people, including 9 children, and damaged 29 residential buildings.

Ukraine declared April 6 as a Day of Mourning for those killed in the attack.