At least seventeen people were injured today during what's being reported as a Russian strike against a hospital complex in the southern Ukrainian city of Mariupol. Part of the complex housed a children's clinic and maternity ward, which is now completely demolished.
In a report on the attack by The New York Times they point out that it's uncertain whether or not the hospital complex was fully operational during the time of the Russian strike, but several people were injured, and evacuation attempts were being made for those trapped inside the rubble.
Related: Ukraine civilian death toll higher than imagined
Because Mariupol is a port city, the area attacks have left citizens without basic needs like power, water and heat for days, according to The New York Times coverage. And this most recent civilian attack is just after Saturday's "limited cease-fire" between Russia and Ukraine.
Ukraine news outlets, and citizens near the blast zone, took video of the tragic event, which you can see here:
🆕 Russia bombed a children's hospital in Mariupol destroying the building, according to the city council. Casualty status so far unknown. #Ukraine️ pic.twitter.com/afSM9ZfI1c
— Liz Cookman (@liz_cookman) March 9, 2022
"Planes attacked the maternity ward. That's Russians for you," a man filming video at the scene said in a quote used by The New York Times.
Witnesses at a local news outlet are saying that the strike came from Russian warplanes dropping bombs over the area, and that one of the bombs left a 10-foot crater between two of the hospital's buildings.
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Just hours before the strike, Maria Zakharova, the Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman gave a press conference in which she mentioned that Ukrainian fighters had moved patients from a maternity ward in Mariupol in order to establish combat zones. She was not specific in her press conference as to which maternity ward they were doing this in, but then this event happened so shortly after.
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