New Delhi: Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Vladimir Putin of “carrying out a genocide” after Russian forces bombed a children’s hospital Wednesday in the besieged city of Mariupol.
The attack, authorities said, injured women going through labour and left children fending for themselves in the wreckage.
Zelenskyy said authorities were rummaging through the debris looking for victims after the Russian military dropped several bombs on the hospital where children were being treated.
This despite a 12-hour ceasefire in force, Ukraine pointed out, to evacuate citizens.
Zelenskyy asked: “Children’s hospital? Maternity ward? Why were they a threat to the Russian Federation? What kind of country is the Russian Federation that is afraid of hospitals, afraid of maternity wards and destroys them?”
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine entered its third week Thursday as Ukraine’s soldiers – mostly citizen soldiers – stood resolute at frontlines in the face of Russian fire.
Thousands have been killed so far and more than two million made refugees, the United Nations said.
Military aid from the West has also started coming in through the Polish and Romanian borders as the international community tightened sanctions on Russia.
The Mariupol hospital attack left at least 17 injured, and harrowing images showed pregnant women running helter-skelter.
CNN quoted a Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman as saying that Ukrainian forces had “equipped combat positions” inside the hospital.
The international community unanimously condemned the attack. The United Nations said hospitals and health workers should not “ever, ever be a target”.
Zelenskyy also reiterated his demand that NATO declare a no-fly zone over Ukraine. This would mean that Russian planes could be shot down if they entered Ukrainian airspace.
A no-fly zone would signal the West’s direct participation in the war, Russia President Vladimir Putin has warned.
CNN reported 1,300 civilians had been killed in the city which was under siege for days. Photos showed bodies being laid in mass graves, CNN said.
New satellite images from Maxar Technologies also showed the wreckage of buildings — homes and commercial establishments — damaged or destroyed in the attack.
The US House voted late Wednesday to approve a government funding bill that includes $13.6 billion in aid to Ukraine.
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