‘It Was So Beautiful, and Now it’s Destroyed’: CNN’s Clarissa Ward Interviews Distraught Refugees Fleeing Kyiv Suburb

CNN chief international correspondent Clarissa Ward reported from Irpin, a suburb of Ukraine’s capital city of Kyiv, on Sunday as scores of refugees fled their homes amid heavy bombardment from the Russians.

CNN Newsroom anchor Fredricka Whitfield introduced a photo showing Ukrainian civilians huddled under a damaged bridge in Irpin, along with the sad news that at least eight people had been killed by Russian mortar fire as they tried to flee for safety, including two children.

Ward and her camera crew were in the area and she spoke to a number of the Ukrainians.

Irpin had been “pummeled by Russian strikes” for the past seven days, said Ward. “And you can see it in the faces of those leaving: exhaustion, fear, and gratitude to the soldiers helping them flee.”

The bridge, she reported, had been downed by the Ukrainians to prevent Russian forces from using it to get into the city, but now it was “yet another hurdle people must cross.”

“There has been a steady barrage of artillery since we got here just over an hour ago,” Ward continued. “And a never-ending stream of people just desperately trying to cross to safety.”

One woman had a large bandage wrapped around her calf, with dried blood having soaked through from a wound, which she told Ward was caused by shrapnel from a shell that hit her apartment as they were trying to pack to evacuate. “Still in shock, she dismissed the pain and walks away unaided,” Ward noted.

“President Putin has said his army is not targeting civilians,” said Ward. “But the exodus from Irpin tells a different story.” She described the refugees as “frightened,” “exhausted,” and “on edge.”

Another woman approached Ward and and told her she was afraid. “For what, for what?” she said through tears, apparently asking about the purpose for this war that had devastated her town.

Olga, who had lived in Irpin for 45 years, told Ward that she did not know where she would go next.

“It was so beautiful, and now it’s destroyed,” said Olga. “What are they trying to achieve? To bring us to our knees?”

“But against all odds, ten days into this war,” Ward commented, “Ukraine is still standing.”

“We will overcome everything,” said another woman waiting to be evacuated who Ward described as “trembling” but “resilient.”

Watch the video above, via CNN.