According to Ukrainian sources, dozens of people were kidnapped from a maternity hospital in Mariupol to Russia. “More than 70 people, including women and medical staff, were forcibly removed by the occupants of Maternity No. 2,” the port city administration said Wednesday on the Telegram message service. In all, more than 20,000 residents of Mariupol have already been brought to Russia “against their will”.
The Russians took their papers and took them “to distant Russian cities”, the city administration said. The information cannot be independently verified as Mariupol has been under siege since late February and communication has been interrupted.
On March 9, another maternity and children’s hospital in Mariupol was bombed by Russian forces. At least three people, including a child, were killed. The attack caused international outrage.
Mariupol has been cut off from all supplies for weeks and is under heavy fire from Russian forces. The city has now largely been destroyed, but around 160,000 residents are trapped there. The situation on the ground is catastrophic. At least 5,000 people have been killed since the Russian attacks began, according to Ukrainian sources. According to France, evacuations from the city are currently not possible.