In pictures: Ukraine’s coastal city of Mariupol under Russian fire

We’ve circled in red and green two distinctive parts of this building, which helped us to identify corresponding details in the two videos showing the Mariupol maternity ward after it was bombed on March 9, 2022. © @Frutik_ / @ZelenskyyUa, via Twitter

The Russian army has advanced quickly through the south of Ukraine, surrounding the coastal city of Mariupol. Amateur images, as well as satellite photos, show the destruction caused by Russian bombs.

When images emerged online of a maternity ward destroyed by Russian bombing in the city of Mariupol on March 9, people reacted in shock, horror and outrage. The European Union called for an investigation. Our team has verified a number of videos documenting the aftermath of the attack.

Our team verified a video shared by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky which was filmed in the destroyed ward.

We’ve circled in red and green two distinctive parts of this building, which helped us to find the points of correspondence in two videos showing the Mariupol maternity ward after it was bombed on March 9, 2022. © @Frutik_ / @ZelenskyyUa

Images, mainly posted on Twitter, show pregnant women leaving the building, wounded. At least three people died and 17 others were injured, according to Mariupol’s city hall. Russian authorities, however, have claimed that the hospital was no longer operational and that, instead, it had become a sort of barracks for Ukrainian fighters with the neo-Nazi Azov regiment. However, there has been no evidence of this.

Shelling on the town centre

This maternity ward is not the only building that was hit by Russian bombs. On March 10, a video posted on Twitter showed a large crater, similar in size to the one in front of the maternity ward. We found the exact location of the crater in the centre of Mariupol.

Above: the buildings visible in the video shot after the strike. Below: the same ones on the Yandex Map, allowing us to pinpoint the location of the strike. © @no_itsmyturn / Yandex Map

Damage visible from space

In the north of the country, Russian forces are struggling to advance. However, in the south, in annexed Crimea and the Donbas, they are advancing rapidly. Mariupol, which lies between these two southern territories, is now surrounded and under siege. In the north, east and west of the city, the Russian army is relentlessly shelling the coastal city.

A video published by the pro-Russian media WarGonzo on March 9 shows a multiple rocket launcher firing towards the city. The Russian vehicle was located about 13 km from the city centre.

More and more residents are struggling to find water and food. A satellite photo taken by Maxar shows a supermarket destroyed in Mariupol on March 9.

On March 7, Russia said that they would set up a humanitarian corridor to allow civilians to evacuate Mariupol. However, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence accused Russian soldiers of failing to respect evacuation conditions.