City officials said at least 17 people were injured in the attack, including children, women and doctors. At least five people died after the attack. Turn on sound Dumb
“We were lying in the wards when glass, frames, windows and walls shattered. We don’t know how it happened. We were in our wards and some managed to cover up. Some didn’t.” These are the words of Mariana Wishegirskaya, survivor of the attack, to the Associated Press (AP).
A pregnant Vishegirskaya with a bloodied face descends the stairs of a destroyed building.
The next day she gave birth to a girl.
Among the injured was a pregnant woman who was filmed being carried out on a stretcher. Neither she nor her child could be saved, the surgeon who treated her later confirmed. The photo caused shock all over the world.
When these stories of suffering surfaced, Russian officials questioned their veracity on news programs and on the Internet.
Despite Vyshegirskaya speaking publicly to AP about her experience, Russia has accused her and others of being actors and not real victims. This statement by the Russian Ambassador to the Netherlands is made in a Dutch news program. Turn on sound Dumb
The AP later stated that reporters at the scene saw no sign that the hospital was being used as a non-hospital, nor anything that suggested that Vyshegirskaya was not the real patient.
Twitter says it has removed a number of tweets from the Russian embassy in the UK for violating its policies, “in particular our policy on hateful behavior and abusive behavior related to the denial of violent events.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov returned to his original line – that the attack was justified – in the UN Security Council the day after the attack. He claimed that the hospital was the base of the Azov Battalion, which is integrated into the Ukrainian armed forces but was previously an independent ultra-nationalist militia. Turn on sound Dumb
World leaders condemned the attack on Mariupol Hospital No. 3, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
As well as UN Secretary General António Guterres.
US Vice President Kamala Harris called the attack “unprovoked” and “unjustified.” Turn on sound Dumb
As of press time, Mariupol is still under siege, civilian buildings are still under attack and many people are in danger.