According to Ukrainian authorities, several bombs were dropped on the children’s hospital in the port city of Mariupol. The hospital suffered “colossal” damage, the city council of the besieged city said. Particularly gruesome: The region’s governor, Pavlo Kyrylenko, said the attack came during an agreed ceasefire to evacuate civilians. At least 17 people were injured, including women in labour. The search for survivors is still under the rubble.
The bombing of the children’s hospital was “proof that a genocide against the Ukrainern takes place,” said President Zelenskyy. “What kind of country is this, the Russian Federation, that is afraid of hospitals, afraid of maternity hospitals and destroying them?”
Ukrainian local authorities reported shelling from several cities on Thursday night. According to the Ukrainian army, however, the Russian troops’ own forces are currently repelling and holding them back. This was announced by the General Staff of the Ukrainian Army on Facebook. In some areas of operation, the Russian units had lost their combat effectiveness. Attempts to provide safe escape corridors for civilians continue.
Russian planes bombed the area around the north-eastern Ukrainian city of Sumy, the head of the Sumy regional administration, Dmytro Shyvytskyi, wrote on Telegram. Residential areas were again shelled in the town of Ochtyrka south of Sumy. There is also information that a gas line had also been hit there. The information cannot be independently verified.
The Russian army is continuing to work on encircling Kyiv and is also strengthening its units around the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv, Ukraine said. There have also been attacks in the Kharkiv region in the east of the country on the city of Izyum and the nearby villages of Petrivke and Hruschuvakha.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has arrived in Antalya, Turkey, where he wants to negotiate options for an end to the war with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on Thursday. The meeting will be mediated by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.
As a condition for a cessation of fighting, Russia is demanding that Ukraine declare itself neutral in its constitution. In addition, Kyiv must recognize the annexed Black Sea peninsula of Crimea as Russian and the separatist areas as independent. So far, Ukraine has largely rejected this. However, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has indicated a certain willingness to compromise. eXXpress reported.
