Global outrage and grief has been spread by the aerial bombing of a maternity hospital yesterday in Mariupol, causing the injury of seventeen adults. The images of pregnant women being carried bloody on stretchers after the Russian airstrike shocked both international public opinion and the world's leading personalities, starkly highlighting yet another aspect of the humanitarian tragedy being experienced by the citizens of Ukraine.
- Russia admits bombing at Mariupol maternity hospital, but says there were Ukrainian battalions there (video)[/URL][/B]
- A children's hospital in Mariupol was bombed. "Atrocity! You have the power but are losing humanity" (video)
The first account reported 17 wounded, as disclosed by the regional official, Pavlo Kirilenko, among whom, however, "there were no children", while - according to the Associated Press - the port of Mariupol was shaken more than a mile away when the maternity hospital was hit by a series of explosions due to the Russian airstrike, even destroying much of the building's facade.
However, in a statement, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova commented that "before the maternity hospital was bombed, Ukrainian nationalists had evacuated it of staff and inpatients and taken up battle positions," explaining that this was the reason for the targeted bombing by the Russians.
But images of the attack showed injured pregnant women being carried on stretchers out of the building immediately after the attack, while there appeared to be no sign of the Ukrainian battalions, which Zakharova cited to justify the Russians targeting the maternity hospital.
In contrast, in a high-pitched tone, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zhelensky accused Russia of launching an airstrike that severely damaged a children's hospital in Mariupol, explaining that children were "under the rubble" and giving no further details. Zelensky even posted a video after the attack, asking how much longer the world will continue to ignore Russian terrorism while calling for Ukraine's airspace to be closed.
"Mariupol. Direct strike by Russian forces on the maternity hospital. People, children, lie under the rubble. Atrocity! How much longer will the world be complicit in ignoring the horror? Close the airspace now! Stop the killings! You have the power but you seem to be losing humanity," was the President's message.
In the same vein, his advisor Mikhailo Podolyak posted a video on Twitter, noting that "Mariupol is being obliterated by Russian bombing. There was a direct hit on a maternity hospital. Women and children lie under the rubble. Instead of new lives - deaths. Will it not be enough to close the skies of Ukraine from missiles? Isn't it an argument to stop the killing?" he asked.
"Colossal destruction"
The news of the bombing of the children's hospital by Russian air forces was also made public from the first minutes by the Mariupol municipal authorities, describing how "the Russian occupation forces dropped many bombs on the children's hospital. The destruction is colossal."
The images of the maternity hospital, which was transformed into a bombed-out landscape, quickly went around the world, with international organizations and political leaders alike taking a stand against the spectacle, publicly expressing their anguish and dismay. The head of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, on behalf of the organisation, unequivocally condemned "all acts of violence against health facilities, health workers and patients". "We reiterate our urgent call for a peaceful resolution."
"Today's attack on a hospital in Mariupol, Ukraine, where maternity wards and children's wards are located, is horrific. Civilians are paying the highest price for a war that has nothing to do with them," UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres also said in a post, adding that "This senseless violence must stop. End the bloodshed now."
Catherine Russell, on behalf of UNICEF, commented that "I am horrified by the reported attack today on a maternity hospital in Mariupol, Ukraine - an attack that reportedly left young children and women in labour buried under the rubble of destroyed buildings." He concluded: "We do not yet know the number of victims, but we fear the worst." "Two weeks into Putin's war against Ukraine and we see increasing attacks on civilians. Like the bombing of the Mariupol maternity hospital today. The horror of Russian aggression knows no bounds," observed the Leader of the EPP in the European Parliament, Manfred Weber. "We are ready to increase the pressure on Putin even more," Weber added.
The attack on the Mariupol children's hospital was also condemned by the Vatican, through its Prime Minister Pietro Parolin. "I do not detect a positive mood in favour of the negotiation. If something does not change, the war cannot stop," he said, while making it known that during his telephone conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, he conveyed Pope Francis' request in favour of respect for the civilian population and the implementation of commitments in favour of humanitarian corridors.
Angered by the attack on the Mariupol children's hospital, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson also appeared yesterday, commenting that few things are more perverse than targeting unprotected people. In addition, in a social media post, the British Prime Minister said that the UK is exploring the possibility of further support for Ukraine so that it can defend itself from Russian air strikes, further clarifying that Putin will be asked "to answer for his crimes".
"Barbaric act"
The White House called it a barbaric bombing campaign against Ukraine, condemning the Russian airstrike in Mariupol that hit a children's hospital.
The images of the hospital patients injured by the fire and the destroyed buildings shocked public opinion, as did the images of pregnant women evacuated from the bombing site. "As a mother, I understand the horror of this kind of attack," said White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki. Earlier, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken had also appealed to Moscow to allow Ukrainians to leave the cities amid heavy bombardment by Russian fighter jets.
Free besieged
It is recalled that more than 400.000 people "held hostage" in besieged Mariupol by Russian forces preventing humanitarian aid and evacuation, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said yesterday.
Describing the conditions under which civilians are attempting to evacuate safely as the Russians pound the Ukrainian city, the Ukrainian minister said that scenes of "apocalypse" were unfolding in the port of Mariupol. "Hundreds of thousands of residents have taken shelter there to protect themselves from Russian shelling and rocket attacks without access to water, electricity or heating. Telephone communications are also difficult," he observed."
Source: Proto Thema
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