Ukraine says Russian strike destroyed children's hospital
March 9, 2022, 9:06 PM AEDT / Updated March 10, 2022, 8:57 AM AEDT
By Rachel Elbaum and Erik Ortiz
A children's hospital in the besieged Ukrainian port city of Mariupol was destroyed in the midst of Russian airstrikes and resulted in more than a dozen injuries, city officials said Wednesday, prompting outcry from humanitarian groups and and marking an unsparing show of force against civilian infrastructure.
Video provided by local leaders showed a charred building missing windows and surrounded by piles of debris. The Associated Press reported a series of blasts and a crater extending at least two stories deep at the scene, where soldiers rushed to evacuate victims, including a pregnant and bleeding woman.
The head of Ukraines Donetsk region reported 17 people were wounded, including staff and mothers in the hospital complexs maternity ward, but there were no immediate reports of injured children or deaths.
"The destruction is enormous," the Mariupol City Council said in a Telegram post about the hospital, which was renovated a few years ago.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also tweeted a video showing damage and said "children are under the wreckage." His claims could not immediately be verified by NBC News, and Russia has repeatedly denied targeting civilians.
March 9, 2022, 9:06 PM AEDT / Updated March 10, 2022, 8:57 AM AEDT
By Rachel Elbaum and Erik Ortiz
A children's hospital in the besieged Ukrainian port city of Mariupol was destroyed in the midst of Russian airstrikes and resulted in more than a dozen injuries, city officials said Wednesday, prompting outcry from humanitarian groups and and marking an unsparing show of force against civilian infrastructure.
Video provided by local leaders showed a charred building missing windows and surrounded by piles of debris. The Associated Press reported a series of blasts and a crater extending at least two stories deep at the scene, where soldiers rushed to evacuate victims, including a pregnant and bleeding woman.
The head of Ukraines Donetsk region reported 17 people were wounded, including staff and mothers in the hospital complexs maternity ward, but there were no immediate reports of injured children or deaths.
"The destruction is enormous," the Mariupol City Council said in a Telegram post about the hospital, which was renovated a few years ago.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also tweeted a video showing damage and said "children are under the wreckage." His claims could not immediately be verified by NBC News, and Russia has repeatedly denied targeting civilians.
