Russian forces have bombed a maternity unit in Zaporizhzia and Dr Hans Kluge, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) regional director for Europe warned that Ukraine’s health system are facing their “darkest days.”
A mother and a newborn were pulled from the rubble but sadly the baby died as a result of Russian missile strikes.
Dr Kluge said, “WHO has so far verified 703 attacks on health since the war began 9 months ago. This is a breach of international humanitarian law and the rules of war.
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“Continued attacks on health and energy infrastructure mean hundreds of hospitals and healthcare facilities are no longer fully operational – lacking fuel, water and electricity to meet basic needs.
“Maternity wards need incubators; blood banks need refrigerators; intensive care beds need ventilators; and all require energy.”
He added, “What we know is that hundreds of thousands of premises across the country – including private homes, schools and hospitals – have no gas supplies, essential not only for cooking but also for heating.”
On the night of November 23, the Russians attacked Vilnyansk, Zaporizhzhia region. A two-story building of the maternity ward was destroyed. A woman in labor with a newborn baby and a doctor were found under the rubble. The woman and the doctor survived, but the baby died
📹SESU pic.twitter.com/6ClELRCbVK
— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) November 23, 2022
He continued, “Cold weather can kill. Temperatures are predicted to plummet as low as -20C in parts of the country.
“As desperate families try to stay warm, many will be forced to turn to alternative heating methods, like burning charcoal or wood, or using generators fuelled by diesel, or electric heaters.
“These bring health risks, including exposure to toxic substances that are harmful for children, older people and those with respiratory and cardiovascular conditions, as well as accidental burns and injuries.”
Starukh, wrote on Telegram, “At night, Russian monsters fired huge rockets at the small maternity ward of Vilnianska Hospital.
“Grief fills our hearts – a baby who has just appeared in the world has been killed.
“Rescuers are working on the spot. Death to the Rashists!”
A newborn baby killed in overnight Russian missile attack on maternity ward in Vilniansk, Zaporizhzhia region. Those who insist on peace talks with the terrorists should first talk to the mother of this baby. pic.twitter.com/AGLPdN99Hj
— Maria Avdeeva (@maria_avdv) November 23, 2022
Rescuers said, overnight “in the city of Vilniansk in Zaporizhzhia region, as a result of a rocket attack on the territory of the local hospital, the two-storey building of the maternity ward was destroyed.”
They added that “a woman in labour with a newborn baby as well as a doctor” inside the blown up building.
“As a result of the attack, a baby born in 2022 died, the woman and doctor were rescued from the rubble,” rescuers said.
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky said, “The enemy has once again decided to try to achieve with terror and murder what it wasn’t able to achieve for nine months and won’t be able to achieve.”
“Instead, it will only be held to account for all the evil it has brought to our country,’ he added.
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