re: Latest Updates: Russia-Ukraine Conflict

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At least 17 injured after maternity hospital bombed, Ukrainian officials say

Pelosi holds 45-minute call with Zelensky, discusses attack on maternity hospital, Putin’s actions



By Paulina Firozi, Karla Adam, David L. Stern, Annabelle Timsit, Rachel Pannett, Adela Suliman and Lateshia Beachum

Today at 1:34 a.m. EST|Updated today at 5:00 p.m. EST

At least 17 people, including staff and patients, were injured after a maternity hospital in the city of Mariupol was struck by Russian forces, Ukrainian officials said Wednesday. Images from the scene show injured pregnant women leaving or being carried from the facility. Videos shared on social media and verified by The Washington Post show damage to a clinic, with windows blown out and medical gear destroyed.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called it an “atrocity!” The Mariupol city council wrote in a Telegram post that the destruction was “colossal.” The initial count of injuries was shared in a post by Pavlo Kyrylenko, head of the Donetsk regional and military administration.

The reported attack occurred as the World Health Organization said earlier it has so far verified 18 attacks on health facilities in Ukraine.

It also came amid a fresh attempt to evacuate civilians on Wednesday after both Russia and Ukraine announced routes to allow people to leave hard-hit cities. But after accusing Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces of shelling the escape routes four days in a row, Ukrainian officials remained skeptical of the temporary cease-fire announcements.

Officials in Izyum, one of the cities set to be evacuated, alleged Wednesday that efforts to get civilians out of the city were compromised by shelling from Russian forces. Other evacuations appeared to be proceeding.

Local officials in the northeastern Sumy region, from which 5,000 people were able to evacuate a day earlier, said people were leaving in private cars and that they planned to load 22 buses with people, prioritizing pregnant women, women with children, older people and people with disabilities.

Ukraine’s state-owned grid operator warned that the closed Chernobyl nuclear power plant has been disconnected from the nation’s power grid by Russian forces, potentially jeopardizing the cooling of nuclear fuel still stored at the site. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba demanded a cease-fire with Russia to allow repairs, and another official called it an “extremely dangerous situation.”

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States, Britain and others “have done extraordinary things to make sure the Ukrainians have in their hands the means to defend themselves,” but providing aircraft presents logistical and policy concerns. Meanwhile, the White House defended its decision to all but decline an offer from Poland to deliver MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine.