Russian Air Strike Hits Maternity Hospital in Ukraine

Natalie Shomali, Staff Reporter, The Pawprint

Ukraine reports a maternity hospital in Mariupol destroyed after attack by a Russian air strike yesterday. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed that many were stuck in the ruins of the hospital, with at least 17 people injured.  

Videos were uploaded by the Mariupol city council, where it is clear to see burning buildings, damaged cars, and a large crater right by the hospital.

The head of the Donetsk regional administration, Pavlo Kyrylenko, stated that there were no confirmed deaths, nor confirmed child injuries. 

President Zelensky labeled this attack a war crime, describing it as an “atrocity.”

“What kind of a country is Russia, that it is afraid of hospitals and maternity wards and destroys them?” he asked.

The U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson posted a tweet saying that there are “few things more depraved than targeting the vulnerable and defenseless.” The U.S. White House also responded, claiming that this attack on the innocent was “barbaric.”

“We don’t understand how it’s possible in modern life to bomb a children’s hospital. People cannot believe that it’s true,” said Mariupol Deputy Mayor Serhiy Orlov.