Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has no doubt left the greatest impact on Ukrainians, causing loss of their property, homes and separating families.
But now, Russia has committed an even more inhumane act – jeopardising the lives of the weak and sick.
Russian Air Strike Destroyed Children’s Hospital
On Wednesday (9 March), an apparent Russian air strike destroyed a children’s hospital in the besieged Ukrainian port of Mariupol, despite a ceasefire agreement to allow people of the city.
The United States condemned the bombing as “barbaric” after the strike buried patients under rubble.
Women in labour were injured and children were trapped in the wreckage – the latest grim incident of the 14-day invasion.
The recently refurbished maternity hospital, which included a paediatric unit, had been hit several times by an air strike, causing “colossal” destruction and wounding at least 17 staff.
Previously, Russia had pledged to halt firing so that trapped civilians could escape the city, where hundreds of thousands have been sheltering without water or power for more than a week.
Evidently, they did not keep their word.
Russia Claims Attack was a “Special Operation”
Regarding the incursion, Russia called it a “special operation” to disarm its neighbour and dislodge leaders it calls “neo-Nazis”.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, “Russian forces do not fire on civilian targets.”
But they drop bombs on them. How is it any different?
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was not having any of it and condemned the attack on the hospital as a “war crime”.
He shared video footage showing massive destruction at the complex, saying a “direct strike by Russian troops” had left children under the wreckage.
You can view the state of destruction here.
Ukraine’s foreign ministry posted video footage of what it said was the hospital showing holes where windows should have been in a three-storey building. Huge piles of smouldering rubble littered the scene.
“It is horrifying to see the type of the barbaric use of military force to go after innocent civilians in a sovereign country,” said White House press secretary Jen Psaki, while British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called the attack “depraved”.
Indiscriminate Weapon Use
The UN Human Rights body said its monitoring mission was verifying the number of casualties.
“The incident adds to our deep concerns about indiscriminate use of weapons in populated areas and civilians trapped in active hostilities in numerous areas,” said spokesperson Liz Throssell.
Ukraine accused Russia of breaking the ceasefire around the southern port.
Satellite image company Maxar said images from earlier in the day showed extensive damage to homes, apartment buildings, grocery stores and shopping centres in Mariupol.
But, believe it or not, Russia actually had the nerve to point its finger back at Ukraine.
Its defence ministry blamed Ukraine for the failure of the evacuation.
Well, they wouldn’t have to evacuate residents if someone had not invaded their country.
Evacuation of Ukrainians
On the contrary, Ukraine has been actively evacuating its residents.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said that more than 1 million children have fled the country since the invasion started. At least 37 had been killed and 50 injured, it said.
Around 48,000 Ukrainians have been evacuated through humanitarian corridors, Interfax Ukraine news agency said on Wednesday.
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Instead, it was the Russian forces who were obstructing the evacuation process.
Local officials said while some had departed from certain locations, Russian forces were preventing buses from evacuating civilians from Bucha, a town near Kyiv.
Houses in Ukraine have been reduced to rubble, leaving hundreds of thousands of people without food, water, heat, electricity or medical care.
Thousands of Ukrainians are continuing to flood into neighbouring countries, which have welcomed them with open arms.
Increasing Sanctions on Russia
Russia has been hit by Western sanctions and the withdrawals of foreign firms since the invasion began on 24 February.
Nestle, cigarette maker Philip Morris and Sony joined the list of multinationals stepping back from the country on Wednesday.
The United States is weighing sanctions on nuclear power supplier Rosatom, a senior Biden administration official said.
The World Bank’s chief economist said Moscow was edging close to defaulting on its debt.
The Kremlin is taking measures to shore up the economy and planned to respond to a US ban on its oil and energy exports as the rouble dropped to record lows.
There was not much hope for diplomacy as Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived in Turkey ahead of talks on Thursday with Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in what will be the first meeting between the pair since the incursion.
Ukraine is seeking a ceasefire, liberation of its territories and to resolve all humanitarian issues, Kuleba said, adding that his expectations of the talks are low.
US Involvement & NATO Plans
If you are acquainted with the history of Russia and Ukraine, you would know that this invasion started all because of Ukraine’s plan to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) alliance, something that Russia sees as a threat.
The West says Russia is inventing pretexts to justify an unprovoked war.
To which, Russian President Vladimir Putin retorted that Ukraine is a US colony with a puppet regime and no tradition of independent statehood.
The White House on Wednesday said Russia’s claims about alleged US involvement in biological weapons labs and chemical weapons development in Ukraine were false.
Russian forces hold territory along Ukraine’s northeast border, the east and the southeast. Fighting has taken place in the outskirts of Kyiv, while Ukraine’s second city Kharkiv is under bombardment.
A Russian assault force is stalled north of Kyiv and Western countries say the Kremlin has had to adjust its plan to swiftly topple the government.
Power Cut to Chernobyl
Beyond the direct impact on citizens, another potential problem arose due to the war.
Ukraine’s nuclear power plant operator expressed concern for safety at Chernobyl, the site of the world’s worst nuclear disaster in 1986, where it said a power cut caused by fighting meant spent nuclear fuel could not be cooled.
Russia’s defence ministry blamed Ukraine for the power cut.
Of course, it is never Russia’s fault, right?
Kuleba said reserve diesel generators had a 48-hour capacity. “After that, cooling systems of the storage facility for spent nuclear fuel will stop, making radiation leaks imminent,” he said.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said the heat generated by the spent fuel and the volume of cooling water were such that it was “sufficient for effective heat removal without need for electrical supply”.
Regardless of the source, those who are most impacted by war are always innocent civilians. Perhaps if world leaders were more concerned for their people, other ways could be used to resolve geopolitical issues.
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Featured Image: Screengrab of Facebook (Volodymyr Zelenskyy)