On Thursday, Ukrainian and British officials condemned a Russian airstrike on a maternity hospital in Mariupol, which killed three people.
As efforts to establish a wide cease-fire failed, emergency personnel redoubled their efforts to bring crucial food and medical supplies into besieged communities, as well as to evacuate devastated inhabitants.
The city council of Mariupol and Ukraine’s president both confirmed that a kid was among those killed in Wednesday’s attack on the southern port.
Another 17 individuals were injured, including pregnant women, doctors, and toddlers who were buried under the wreckage.
In many countries, images of pregnant women covered in dust and blood dominated news reports, bringing a new wave of horror to the two-week-old war sparked by Russia’s invasion, which has killed thousands of soldiers and civilians, displaced more than two million people, and shook the foundations of European security.
Thousands of people have been replaced within the country. Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of Kyiv, stated on Thursday that roughly two million people — half the population of the capital’s metro region — have fled the city, which has turned into a fortress.
“Every street, every house… is fortified, and the territorial defense is bolstered.” In broadcast remarks, he stated, “Even those who never intended to change their attire are suddenly in uniform with machine guns in their hands.”
As Russian forces intensified their siege of Ukrainian cities, bombs were dropped on two hospitals in Zhytomyr, west of the capital, Kyiv, according to the mayor.
Since the Russian invasion began two weeks ago, the World Health Organization has recorded 18 strikes on medical facilities.
Russian soldiers have made little headway on the ground in recent days, according to Western sources as the war enters its third week.
They have, however, increased the shelling of Mariupol and other cities, trapping hundreds of thousands of civilians who are running out of food and water.
Temporary cease-fires intended to allow for evacuations and humanitarian aid have frequently broken down, with Ukraine accusing Russia of continuing to shell the country. However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed that 35,000 people were able to flee besieged areas on Wednesday and that more efforts were continuing on Thursday from towns and cities in eastern and southern Ukraine, including Mariupol, as well as Kyiv suburbs.
Despite three days of fruitless attempts to reach Mariupol, the city council broadcast a video on Thursday showing buses going along a highway with a note claiming that a convoy bearing food and medication was on its way.
“Everyone is working to help the Mariupol residents. And it will arrive,” stated Vadym Boychenko, the mayor of Kyiv.
