Photos: Destruction and death in Ukraine under bombardment

Russia's escalating attacks on populated urban areas of Ukraine left rubble and wreckage in streets and plazas as the invasion claimed new victims across the country. The central square in Ukraine's second-biggest city was hit with what was believed to be a missile, leaving the massive area piled high with debris.

Hospitals raced to treat victims of the bombardment even as mothers and children sheltered in their basements. While the fighting in Ukraine raged, the death toll remained unclear.

At the border, anguished families said goodbye as women and children fled while many men returned to fight. More than 675,000 people have escaped to neighbouring countries since the Russian invasion began — a number that will only grow, according to the UN refugee agency.

People arrive at a train station as they try to leave Kyiv, Ukraine, on March 1. Photo / AP

People look at the gutted remains of Russian military vehicles on a road in the town of Bucha, close to the capital Kyiv, Ukraine, on March 1. Photo / AP

An armed man stands by the remains of a Russian military vehicle in Bucha, close to the capital Kyiv, Ukraine, on March 1. Photo / AP

Animal keeper Kirilo Trantin comforts an elephant at the Kiev Zoo in Kyiv, Ukraine, on March 1. Photo / AP

People walk along an empty road during curfew, in Kyiv, Ukraine, on March 1. Photo / AP

Ukrainians prepare to board a bus to Poland at Lviv bus main station, western Ukraine, on March 1. Photo / AP

Ukrainian emergency service personnel carry a body of a victim out of the damaged City Hall building following shelling in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on March 1. Photo / AP

A woman speaks by phone holding her sick baby in a basement used as a bomb shelter at the Okhmadet children's hospital in central Kyiv, Ukraine, on March 1. Photo / AP

Ukrainian families say goodbye as they prepare to board a bus to Poland at Lviv bus main station, western Ukraine, on March 1. Photo / AP

A damaged car sits at the central square following shelling of the City Hall building in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on March 1. Photo / AP

Oleksandr Konovalov, an ambulance paramedic (centre) pushes a stretcher with a woman injured by shelling in Mariupol, Ukraine, on March 1. Photo / AP

A nurse shows a newborn baby to a woman who gave birth at a maternity hospital converted into a medical ward in Mariupol, Ukraine, on March 1. Photo / AP

Ukrainian servicemen ride on top of an armoured personnel carrier speeding down a deserted boulevard during an air raid alarm, in Kyiv, Ukraine, on March 1. Photo / AP

Plastic sheeting wraps shelves with alcoholic beverages banned for sale in a supermarket in Kyiv, Ukraine, on March 1. Photo / AP

People crowd on a platform as they wait to board a Lviv-bound train in Kyiv, Ukraine, on March 1. Photo / AP

A man sits by the remains of a bonfire after fleeing from the Ukraine near the border crossing in Medyka, Poland, on March 1. Photo / AP

Ambulance paramedics move an injured man on a stretcher, wounded by shelling in Mariupol, Ukraine. Photo / AP

A car driving along a road is visible from a Ukrainian army position through the viewfinder of a Dragunov sniper rifle in the northern part of Kyiv, Ukraine, on March 1. Photo / AP

A women with a child who fled from the war in Ukraine reacts as they reunite with their family after crossing the border in Medyka, Poland, on March 1. Photo / AP

A member of the Ukrainian Emergency Service looks at the City Hall building in the central square following shelling in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on March 1. Photo / AP