There are children under the wreckage, Ukraine’s president says
Mariupol children’s hospital destroyed by Russian bombs
A children’s hospital in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol has been destroyed by Russian air strikes, officials say.
“The Russian occupying forces have dropped several bombs on the children’s hospital. The destruction is colossal,” the city council said in an online post.
It said it did not yet know any casualty figures. A maternity ward was also hit, it said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said there were children in the wreckage.
He tweeted: “Mariupol. Direct strike of Russian troops at the maternity hospital. 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.”
(NEXTA)
Ukrainian MP Dmytro Gurin shared footage of the damage on twitter, saying people had been pulled from the rubble.
The reports could not immediately be verified. Russia has denied targeting civilians.
Its troops have been laying siege to the southern port city for days.
Thousands of people have been without power, sanitation and basic necessities for almost a week.
Bodies have been left lying in the street, and there are fires burning across the city.
According to president Zelensky, a child died of dehydration after the Russian military cut off the water supply.
There have been several attempts to get trapped residents out, but Ukraine says Russian shelling is still preventing people from leaving.
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Ukraine: President Zelensky said the Russian military shelled a maternity hospital in Mariupol
(Volodymyr Zelensky/Twitter)
It has accused Russian forces of breaking ceasefire agreements and bombing an evacuation route for civilians.
Ukraine’s foreign minister has accused Russia of holding over 400,000 residents hostage in the city, blocking aid and escape routes.
Dmytro Kuleba wrote on twitter: “Indiscriminate shelling continues. Almost 3,000 newborn babies lack medicine and food. I urge the world to act.”
Capturing Mariupol could allow Moscow to establish a land corridor to Crimea, which Russia seized from Ukraine in 2014.
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