“How is it possible for someone to bomb a children’s hospital?”
The question was asked by the deputy mayor of the city of Mariupol, Serhi Orlov, during an interview with the BBC, reporting what is probably the worst aggression committed by the Russian army on Ukrainian territory since the beginning of the invasion on 24 February.
On Wednesday afternoon, a Russian air strike destroyed much of a maternity hospital in the port city of Mariupol and injured at least 17 people. The episode came amid growing warnings from the West that the invasion of Moscow troops is about to take a more brutal and indiscriminate turn.
The intensity of Russian attacks inside and around Ukraine’s most important cities has gained strength again after the 72 hours it took the Moscow army to rotate troops in the field — replacing soldiers on the front line. Therefore, atrocities like the one in Mariupol tend to be repeated more often from now on.
In Kiev, also on Wednesday, in addition to a column of at least eight tanks and other military vehicles, the Ukrainian Armed Forces moved dozens of empty buses to the municipality of Brovari, which is 25 km northeast of the capital.
Certain that Russian troops will try to quickly reach Brovari, the Ukrainian Army has shown that it intends to remove women, children and the elderly from the city as quickly as possible. The intention is to avoid repeating events like this Wednesday in the maternity ward.
As of this writing, air raid warning sirens in Kiev had sounded 18 times throughout the day.
Secondary access bridges to the capital, such as those separating the city from municipalities such as Irpin and Bucha, were intentionally damaged by the Ukrainian army. The objective is to make it difficult for Russian tanks to enter Kiev.
The main accesses to the capital, especially the roads that lead to the large bridges that cross the Dnieper River, were closed off by barricades made of concrete blocks and welded X-shaped rails, in addition to barriers formed by dozens of buses and trucks crossed. purposely in the middle of the track.
More and more checkpoints run by armed civilians are emerging. These points are installed on the streets of Kiev and on the side roads of the region, through which many civilians flee – they want to avoid the main highways, already controlled by the Russians.
The tension, fear and inexperience of the people who control these checkpoints make it difficult and often impossible for journalists to access areas where attacks like the one in Mariupol have taken place.
THE sheet he tried to get to Chernihiv, an hour and a half journey from Kiev—that was in normal times. This is the city where, on the 3rd, a Russian air strike took place that would have killed 47 civilians, according to Amnesty International’s complaint. This attack, according to the organization, could constitute a war crime.
Eight hours, 260 km and more than 30 checkpoints later, the report was unable to verify the veracity of the attack. The trip to Chernihiv had to be cancelled.
