Russia Escalates Attacks On Ukraine’s Civilian Areas, Destroying Maternity Hospital

Russia intensifies attacks in Ukraine deploying heavy weaponry and killing thousands of civilians, shelling the residential neighborhoods, and even disrupting Ukrainian efforts to evacuate residents from the attacked cities.

On Wednesday, 9th of March, Russian airstrikes hit a maternity hospital in the besieged city of Mariupol in Ukraine, injuring at least 17. The hospital is still operating, although employees said the facility was badly damaged by the strike.

The attack occurred two days after the World Health Organization declared 18 attacks on health facilities in Ukraine. It also followed Ukraine’s attempt to create humanitarian corridors for civilians trapped in the fighting, which were agreed with Russia but violently shelled four days in a row. The attacks shattered a supposed cease-fire by Russia and caused international outrage, with the European Union and the U.S. threatening more sanctions against Russia. 

Residents of the blockaded city of Mariupol continue to experience shortages of food, medicine, and fuel, as well as a breakdown in basic services such as electricity. As declared by Ukraine’s national security adviser Oleksiy Danilov, the strategic objective of Russia is to encircle Ukrainian forces and create a situation of humanitarian disaster for the civilian population. 

President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed his horror by describing the situation as “beyond an atrocity”, and appealed again to the West to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine so Russia would be unable to continue its “genocide.”