A Russian airstrike hit a maternity hospital in the city of Mariupol, which has suffered a number of attacks in recent days, per The Wall Street Journal.
- Adults and children were buried under the rubble, Ukrainian officials said, per WSJ.
Context: Officials said they moved about 5,000 residents out of Mariupol overnight.
- However, shelling has continued in the city. One bomb killed 22 people, officials said, per WSJ.
- Per The Associated Press, the city of Mariupol — with 430,000 citizens — has been surrounded by Russian troops.
What they’re saying: “It’s medieval,” Mariupol Deputy Mayor Sergiy Orlov said, per The Guardian.
- “Putin is intent on having Ukraine without Ukrainians. It’s pure genocide. The attack being waged by Russia isn’t simply treacherous. It’s a war crime,” Orlov said, according to The Guardian.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said: “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?”
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The bigger picture: Ukraine and Russia are currently working on ceasefire agreements to move civilians. The latest agreement focused on opening a corridor so that the area outside of Kyiv could be evacuated, as I reported for the Deseret News.
- Many of those citizens are moving toward Kyiv, the capital city of Ukraine.
- At the same time, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the country is trying to evacuate about 18,000 people from Kyiv, per The Associated Press.