A Ukrainian maternity and children’s hospital was bombed by Russian airstrikes on Wednesday, despite Russia agreeing to a 12-hour pause in attacks to allow refugees to flee violence in towns and cities across the country.
“Direct strike of Russian troops at the maternity hospital,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskysaid in a video posted on social media. “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,” he added, again urging NATO and Western leaders to establish a no-fly zone over Ukraine.
“City center maternity hospital, hospital, children’s ward and therapy – all destroyed during a Russian aviation flight to Mariupol,” said Pavlo Kirilenko, who is the head of the Donetsk Regional military administration, on a Facebook post. “The Russians! You have not only crossed the border of unacceptable relations between states and peoples. You have crossed the line of humanity.”
He added to Zelensky’s request to close the sky.
Western powers condemned Russia’s attack on the hospital as reports surfaced that the airstrike had injured 17 people and killed three, including a young girl.
Mariupol has been heavily hit since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began late last month. The city has been cut off from power and water for days.
It is a rule of war that civilians, medical workers, medical vehicles and hospitals should not be attacked, but Russia has struck multiple hospitals raising suspicions that the facilities have been their targets. The World Health Organization reports that there have been 24 attacks on Ukrainian health facilities so far.
