Russian Airstrike Devastates Ukraine Maternity Hospital

March 9, 2022

A maternity hospital within the Ukraine port metropolis of Mariupol was closely broken by a Russian airstrike on Wednesday, leaving at the very least 17 individuals injured or wounded, Ukrainian officers instructed The Associated Press.

Video and images confirmed scorched automobiles and timber exterior the constructing and folks serving to the injured depart the world, together with a pregnant girl on a stretcher. The Associated Press mentioned the blast created a crater at the very least two tales deep, blew out home windows and ripped away a lot of the constructing’s entrance. No fatalities have been instantly reported.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy tweeted a video that confirmed rubble and damaged furnishings in what seems to be the inside of the hospital.

“Mariupol. Direct strike of Russian troops at the maternity hospital,” Zelenskyy tweeted. “People, children are under the wreckage. Atrocity! How much longer will the world be an accomplice ignoring terror? Close the sky right now! Stop the killings! You have power but you seem to be losing humanity.”

“Today Russia committed a huge crime,” Volodymir Nikulin, a high regional police official mentioned whereas standing within the hospital ruins, based on The Associated Press.  “It is a war crime without any justification.”

Mariupol has been beneath heavy bombardment, and most residents haven’t had energy, warmth, water, or cellphone service for greater than per week, The Associated Press mentioned.

Mariupol Deputy Mayor Sergei Orlov mentioned 1,170 residents had died, with 47 buried in a mass grave Wednesday, The Guardian reported.

“It’s medieval,” he mentioned. “It’s pure genocide. The attack isn’t simply treacherous. It’s a war crime. They are attacking us with aviation, shells, multiple rocket launchers.”