A woman outside the damaged maternity hospital in Mariupol, Ukraine which was hit by Russian forces. Photo / AP
A Russian airstrike devastated a maternity hospital Wednesday in the besieged port city of Mariupol amid growing warnings from the West that Moscow's invasion is about to take a more brutal and indiscriminate turn. Ukrainian officials said at least 17 people were wounded in the attack.
The ground shook more than a kilometre away when the Mariupol complex was hit by a series of blasts that blew out windows and ripped away much of the front of one building. Police and soldiers rushed to scene to evacuate victims, carrying out a heavily pregnant and bleeding woman on a stretcher.
Another woman wailed as she clutched her child. In the courtyard, mangled cars burned, and a blast crater extended at least two storeys deep.
"Today Russia committed a huge crime," said Volodymir Nikulin, a top regional police official, standing in the ruins. "It is a war crime without any justification."
#Mariupol. 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? Close the sky right now! Stop the killings! You have power but you seem to be losing humanity. pic.twitter.com/rV8fLsCPkp
— Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (@ua_parliament) March 9, 2022
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on Twitter that there were "people, children under the wreckage" and called the strike an "atrocity." Video shared by Zelenskyy showed cheerfully painted hallways strewn with twisted metal.
"There are few things more depraved than targeting the vulnerable and defenceless," British Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted, adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin will be held "to account for his terrible crimes."
The heroic efforts of two Ukrainian men have made global headlines after a video captured them defusing a bomb with nothing but their bare hands and a bottle of water.
According to Charles Lister, senior fellow and the Director of the Syria and Countering Terrorism & Extremism programmes at the Middle East Institute, the bomb was so powerful it could "flatten a building".
But that didn't stop the Ukrainian explosive ordnance disposal specialists from risking their lives to save others.
This #Russia-dropped bomb would flatten a building — and yet these #Ukraine EODs defuse it with 2 hands and a bottle of water, while shells audibly land nearby.
— Charles Lister (@Charles_Lister) March 9, 2022
Mind boggling bravery.pic.twitter.com/KvCZeOxRyz
Russian President Vladimir Putin is reportedly "angry and frustrated" by Ukraine's resistance and the failure of his troops to capture Kyiv.
That's according to CIA director William Burns, who told America's ABC news that his frustration would likely cause Putin to "double down" attacks against the nation "with no regard for civilian casualties".
"He has no sustainable political endgame in the face of what is going to continue to be fierce resistance from Ukrainians," Burns said.
"Putin has commented privately and publicly over the years that he doesn't believe Ukraine's a real country. He's dead wrong about that – real countries fight back.
"And that's what the Ukrainians have done quite heroically over the last 12 days."
Yesterday it was reported that China was now spreading a Russian conspiracy theory that the US was developing chemical weapons in Ukraine.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki has warned that disinformation campaign could indicate a brutal attack against Ukrainian citizens could be looming.
"Now that Russia has made these false claims, and China has seemingly endorsed this propaganda, we should all be on the lookout for Russia to possibly use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine, or to create a false flag operation using them. It's a clear pattern," Psaki said in a tweet.
She added that Russia had a "long and well-documented track record of using chemical weapons" and regularly accused the West "of the very violations that Russia itself is perpetrating."
We took note of Russia’s false claims about alleged U.S. biological weapons labs and chemical weapons development in Ukraine. We’ve also seen Chinese officials echo these conspiracy theories.
— Jen Psaki (@PressSec) March 9, 2022
Ukrainian officials have accused Russia of attacking a humanitarian corridor which had been previously agreed on as an escape route for fleeing civilians.
According to the city council of Bucha – a city north of the capital Kyiv – a planned evacuation out of the area had been blocked by Russian forces.
"The occupants are disrupting the evacuation. Currently, 50 buses are blocked by Russian military in the parking lot: do not give passage to the column," the city council said in a Facebook post.
"Negotiations are ongoing to unlock traffic.
"We remind you that the "green corridor" was an agreement at the highest level."
It comes as Russia also stands accused of breaking a 12-hour ceasefire to bomb a children's and maternity hospital in Mariupol.
Russia's defence ministry has posted a video of troops cruelly taunting Ukraine by waving Soviet Union flags from tanks rolling through the invaded nation.
It is not known exactly where the act took place, with Russian authorities only revealing that tanks were headed to a "designated area".
"The Russian Armed Forces units continue to take control of the Ukrainian regions occupied by nationalists within special military operation," the ministry said alongside the video.
Ukraine gained independence in 1991 during the fall of the Soviet Union after being under Moscow's control for almost seven decades.
The flag is seen as an inflammatory symbol of that oppression and was likely deliberately brandished to cause further distress to the Ukrainian people.
It has been interpreted as a threat of the return of the Soviet Union, and has sparked outrage on social media.
I've noticed in the past day or so more instances of Russian forces displaying the flag of the former Soviet Union.
— Geoff Brumfiel (@gbrumfiel) March 9, 2022
This is, I gotta say, a very weird vibe. Especially if your cover story is that this isn't about the Cold War in any way.
(Source: Russian MOD Telegram) pic.twitter.com/xbRj65pw3c
Russia's defence ministry has reportedly confirmed it has used thermobaric weapons in Ukraine.
According to Britain's Ministry of Defence, its Russian counterpart has announced the use of the TOS-1A weapon system, which uses deadly thermobaric rockets.
The Russian MoD has confirmed the use of the TOS-1A weapon system in Ukraine. The TOS-1A uses thermobaric rockets, creating incendiary and blast effects.
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) March 9, 2022
Watch the video below for more information about this weapon and its devastating impact.
🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/d8PLQ0PhQD
The "devastating" weapons have been described as "vacuum bombs" due to their ability to suck air of victims' lungs and cause catastrophic injuries, including internal organ damage and suffocation.
While they are not specifically mentioned, there is a widespread belief that thermobaric weapons are banned for use against civilians by the Geneva Convention.
Shocking photos are emerging from Ukraine after a maternity and children's hospital in Mariupol was bombed overnight, during a 12-hour ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia.
Children remain trapped in the rubble, and it is not yet known if there have been any fatalities.
Just try and realize this.
— Illia Ponomarenko 🇺🇦 (@IAPonomarenko) March 9, 2022
Russia today dropped a 1000-kilogram airbomb in downtown Mariupol.
In a location between a hospital and birthing center.
Just because it can. pic.twitter.com/iH4NgvfwXF
At least 17 people were injured.
While Russia denied intentionally targeting civilians, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has condemned the attack, tweeting that many people remain "under the wreckage".
"Direct strike of Russian troops at the maternity hospital. People, children are under the wreckage," he posted.
"Atrocity! How much longer will the world be an accomplice ignoring terror? Close the sky right now!
"Stop the killings! You have power but you seem to be losing humanity."
Officials say the hospital is completely "destroyed", with the city's council stating that "the destruction is enormous".
"The building of the medical facility where the children were treated recently is completely destroyed," the council said.
Former professional boxer Vladimir Klitschko has posted an emotional video in the wake of the Mariupol children's hospital bombing, urging his followers to "stop Putin's war".
"My heart is bleeding. It is often said the first casualty of war is truth. Yes, it is, as you can see in Russia. But you know what? The most unbearable casualties are children. Children are dying by the dozens now," he said in the clip posted to Instagram.
"Look at these images. They are the concrete and real results of Putin's 'special operation' so to speak. When he does not take the lives of these angels, he kills their parents, grandparents, and destroys their homes and schools.
"To attack children is to attack life. If you don't want to see these images anymore, you must not look away. You must stop Putin's war now."
- with AP
The site was used by Hezbollah to plan attacks on Israeli civilians.