Ukraine war

Russians strike Zaporizhzhia maternity ward, killing 2-day-old baby

A rescue operation saw two people rescued from the rubble. (Photo: Reuters)

A two-day-old infant was killed when a Russian missile struck a hospital in southern Ukraine, according to the governor of the region.

Oleksandr Starukh posted on Telegram that artillery fire struck a maternity ward in the city of Vilniansk, Zaporizhzhia, in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Mr. Starukh stated, "At night, Russian monsters fired enormous rockets at the small maternity ward of the Vilniansk hospital." He added, "Grief fills our hearts." A newborn has been murdered.

However, the newborn's mother was rescued from the rubble, according to reports.

Mr. Starukh shared images of the devastation with the Kyiv Independent. Under a pitch-black night sky, the photographs depict emergency personnel combing through piles of rubble as thick smoke rises above them.

A series of images disseminated by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine later this morning revealed that a rescue operation was underway to extract hospital staff and patients from the wreckage of the hospital.

A doctor was also seriously injured after S-300 missiles struck the ward in Vilnyansk, according to reports.

President Volodymyr Zelensky stated, "The enemy has decided to once again attempt to achieve with terror and murder what it has been unable to do for the past nine months and will not be able to do."

The strike in Vilniansk adds to the gruesome toll suffered by hospitals and other medical facilities, as well as their patients and staff, during the tenth month of the Russian invasion, which began this week.

They have been in the firing line from the beginning, including a 9 March airstrike that destroyed a maternity hospital in the occupied port city of Mariupol.

The State Emergency Service initially reported that a newborn was killed, a new mother and a physician were rescued from the rubble, and that they were the only individuals in the ward at the time.

The service indicated in a subsequent post on Telegram that the rescued woman was the mother of the infant.

The head of the Ukrainian presidential office, Andriy Yermak, condemned the attack in a Telegram message. He referred to Russian forces as "terrorists" and asserted that Moscow would be held accountable for "every Ukrainian life."

According to the World Health Organization, hundreds of hospitals and healthcare facilities in Ukraine are on the verge of collapse due to a lack of fuel, water, and electricity.

"The Ukrainian health care system is facing its darkest days so far during the war. After suffering more than 700 attacks, Ukraine is now also a victim of the energy crisis, according to Hans Kluge, WHO's regional director for Europe.

This winter will pose a threat to the lives of millions of Ukrainians, a top official has warned.

Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin, stated last week that Russia's attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure were the result of Kyiv's refusal to negotiate.

Publish : 2022-11-23 17:57:00

Give Your Comments