'Children are under the wreckage' of a maternity hospital targeted by a Russian air strike in the beseiged port city of Mariupol, the President of Ukraine said.
Volodymyr Zelensky called the attack an 'atrocity' as he shared to Twitter video footage of the damage caused, with distressing images showing cots and medical equipment.
The Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, called the incident 'depraved' but Liz Truss, the Foreign Secretary, again directly ruled out the possibility of a no-fly zone over Ukraine, saying: "The reality is that setting up a no-fly zone would lead to a direct confrontation between Nato and Russia, and that is not what we’re looking at."
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Up to 3,000 newborn babies are said to be without medicine and food as 'indiscriminate' shelling continues on the city, said the country's Foreign Minister.
Dmytro Kuleba said on Twitter: "Russia continues holding hostage over 400,000 people in Mariupol, blocks humanitarian aid and evacuation. Indiscriminate shelling continues. Almost 3,000 newborn babies lack medicine and food. I urge the world to act! Force Russia to stop its barbaric war on civilians and babies."
Authorities said they were trying to establish how many people had been killed or wounded. The exact numbers have not been confirmed.
The BBC reported at least 17 people were wounded, quoting the Ukrainian military administration in the eastern Donetsk region. Members of staff and women in labour were among those wounded, officials said.
Video footage shared by Mr Zelensky showed cheerfully painted hallways strewn with twisted metal and room after room with blown-out windows. Floors were covered in wreckage. Outside, a small fire burned and debris covered the ground.
He tweeted: "Mariupol. Direct strike of Russian troops at the maternity hospital. People, children are under the wreckage. Atrocity! How much longer will the world be an accomplice ignoring terror? Close the sky right now! Stop the killings! You have power but you seem to be losing humanity."
Mariupol's city council said on its social media site that the damage was 'colossal'.
Boris Johnson said on Twitter, in response to the news, there are 'few things more depraved than targeting the vulnerable and defenceless'.
The Prime Minister tweeted: "There are few things more depraved than targeting the vulnerable and defenceless. The UK is exploring more support for Ukraine to defend against airstrikes and we will hold (Vladimir) Putin to account for his terrible crimes."
The battered port city's deputy mayor Serhiy Orlov, told the BBC : "We don't understand how it is possible in modern life to bomb children's hospital."
He said people in Mariupol who managed to escape the hospital are in 'total anger" and "cannot believe it is true".
Liz Truss, meanwhile, called Russia's attack on the hospital 'abhorrent, reckless and appalling'.
The Red Cross say the humanitarian crisis in Mariupol is 'apocalyptic' and worsening by the hour.
Hundreds of thousands of residents have been forced to shelter for nearly ten days without water or power.
Authorities announced new cease-fires on Wednesday morning to allow thousands of civilians to escape from towns around Kyiv as well as the southern cities of Mariupol, Enerhodar and Volnovakha, Izyum in the east and Sumy in the northeast.
Previous attempts to establish safe evacuation corridors largely failed because of what the Ukrainians said were Russian attacks. But Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a telephone call with German’s chancellor, accused militant Ukrainian nationalists of hampering the evacuations.
It was not immediately clear whether anyone was able to leave other cities on Wednesday, but people streamed out of Kyiv’s suburbs, many headed for the city centre, even as explosions were heard in the capital and air raid sirens sounded repeatedly. From there, the evacuees planned to board trains bound for western Ukrainian regions not under attack.
The city of Mariupol has been surrounded for days and Ukrainian MP Dmytro Gurin said the streets are 'lined with bodies', reports The Mirror.
He said authorities have been forced to dig a mass grave for 33 people due to Russian shelling before the most recent assault.
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