Jordan Ellis
During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, there have been several reports of hospitals being bombed. One of the most notable incidents occurred on March 9, 2022, when Russian forces bombed a children's and maternity hospital in Mariupol, known as Maternity Hospital No. 3. This attack received widespread international condemnation and was documented in the Pulitzer Prize-winning documentary 20 Days in Mariupol, bringing global attention to the targeting of healthcare facilities in Ukraine. Other instances include the bombing of a maternity hospital in Kharkiv in July 2025 and an airstrike on Okhmatdyt children's hospital in Kyiv in July 2024. These attacks have been widely condemned as war crimes and have had devastating consequences for civilians seeking medical care in Ukraine.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date | 9 March 2022 |
| Location | Mariupol, Ukraine |
| Hospital Name | Maternity Hospital No. 3 |
| Type of Attack | Airstrike/Bombing |
| Perpetrator | Russian Forces |
| Casualties | At least 2 deaths (a pregnant woman and her baby) |
| Injuries | Yes, including a grievously wounded pregnant woman |
| Damage | Collapsed walls, rubble, shattered glass, mangled cars |
| Reactions | Widespread condemnation, described as a war crime |
| Aftermath | Evacuation of remaining people, global outcry |
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What You'll Learn
The Mariupol hospital airstrike
On March 9, 2022, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a children's and maternity hospital in Mariupol (Maternity Hospital No. 3) was bombed several times by Russian forces from the air during a ceasefire. The attack occurred during an agreed-upon ceasefire between Russian and Ukrainian authorities, which was meant to allow civilians to evacuate from Mariupol and four other Ukrainian towns.
Video footage and photographs taken by journalists and photographers in the aftermath of the attack showed the hospital heavily damaged, with much of the front of the building ripped away and mangled cars burning outside. Hospital wards were reduced to wreckage, with collapsed walls, rubble covering medical equipment, and shattered glass everywhere. The Ukrainian authorities described the damage to the hospital as "colossal".
The bombing received widespread condemnation internationally, with many news outlets and public figures describing the act as "barbaric" and a war crime. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis tweeted that Greece was ready to rebuild the maternity hospital and that the attack symbolised "the barbarity of the war". The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) published a report confirming that the maternity house was clearly identifiable and operational, and that Russian forces had therefore perpetrated a war crime.
The documentary "20 Days in Mariupol", directed by Mstyslav Chernov, provides an account of the siege of Mariupol and the aftermath of the maternity hospital bombing. The film won a Pulitzer Prize and an Academy Award for Best Documentary, bringing attention to the Russian targeting of Ukrainian hospitals and health workers as a war strategy.
Mariana Vishegirskaya, a popular Instagram blogger, was one of the pregnant women photographed in the bombing. She survived the attack and gave birth to her daughter the following day in another hospital in Mariupol. In interviews, she stated that the hospital was not hit by an airstrike but rather "shelling" and that no Ukrainian military was stationed in the maternity building, contradicting Russian claims that the hospital was non-functional and had been taken over by soldiers.
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The Kharkiv maternity hospital drone attack
On July 11, 2025, a Russian drone attack on the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv damaged a maternity hospital, causing panic among patients and staff. The windows of the hospital shattered, sending shards of glass falling onto the beds. This led to families rushing to shelter their babies from the danger. According to Kharkiv's regional prosecutors, three women and three newborns suffered acute stress and received medical assistance following the attack.
One of the patients, Oleksandra Lavrynenko, recounted the terrifying experience: "We woke up and heard a very loud whistle. My husband and I got up and quickly went to our little one, and at that moment, there was a hit, and the windows shattered." They rushed to take their one-day-old baby, Maksym, to safety underground. Lavrynenko described the traumatic event, stating, "It was very scary because I was so full of adrenaline that I probably forgot that I had stitches. Now I am slowly recovering from the shock."
The attack on the Kharkiv maternity hospital is not an isolated incident. Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, there have been over 1350 attacks on healthcare facilities, workers, transports, and infrastructure. This includes the well-documented bombing of a maternity hospital in Mariupol on March 9, 2022, where a pregnant woman and her baby lost their lives. The documentary "20 Days in Mariupol" captures the devastating aftermath of this attack and showcases the broader siege on Mariupol civilians during the early weeks of the invasion.
The Mariupol maternity hospital bombing received widespread condemnation from the international community, with many media outlets and organizations denouncing it as a war crime. The Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists who covered the attack on the ground played a crucial role in bringing the truth of the Ukraine conflict to light. Despite Russian officials' claims that the hospital was seized by Ukrainian "radicals" and that the attack was "staged," the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) confirmed in a report that the maternity hospital was clearly identifiable and operational, confirming the perpetration of a war crime by Russian forces.
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The documentary '20 Days in Mariupol'
On February 24, 2022, the Ukrainian city of Mariupol was invaded by Russia. The documentary '20 Days in Mariupol' captures the outbreak of war and how the city was reduced to ruins and rubble within 20 days. It is a visceral, first-person chronicle of the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The film was made by an AP team of Ukrainian journalists, including Mstyslav Chernov, who were trapped in the city of Mariupol. They were the last international journalists reporting from inside the city as Russian troops closed in. Chernov and his colleagues documented the atrocities until they eventually escaped Mariupol.
The documentary shows the relentless Russian attacks on civilian targets, including the bombing of a maternity hospital. The hospital, known as Maternity Hospital No. 3, was bombed several times by Russian forces from the air during a ceasefire. The documentary captures the devastation of the hospital, with walls collapsed, rubble covering medical equipment, windows blown out, and shattered glass everywhere. It also shows the impact of the bombing on mothers and children, with a pregnant woman being carried out of the hospital on a stretcher, later dying along with her baby.
The journalists also captured defining images of the war, including dying children, mass graves, and civilian casualties on a large scale. They documented the heavy toll of the conflict on civilians, showing the day-to-day reality of what Russian aggression was inflicting on Ukrainians. The film offers a vivid and harrowing account of civilians caught in the siege and the impact of journalism in reporting these atrocities to the world.
'20 Days in Mariupol' premiered in the US on November 21, 2023, and is now available to stream online. The documentary has received widespread acclaim, winning awards at various film festivals, including the Sundance Film Festival and the Sheffield Film Festival. It also won a Pulitzer Prize for its reporting and an Academy Award for Best Documentary.
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International reactions and condemnation
The bombing of a maternity hospital in Ukraine received widespread condemnation from the international community. The attack on the hospital, known as Maternity Hospital No. 3, occurred in March 2022 during the Russian invasion of Ukraine and resulted in widespread outrage and criticism of Russia's actions.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the attack as a war crime and presented it as evidence of the genocide of Ukrainians. Mariupol Deputy Mayor Sergei Orlov echoed this sentiment, stating, "We don't understand how it is possible in modern life to bomb [a] children's hospital."
International media outlets also expressed outrage and condemnation. The Daily Mirror and The Independent described the act as "barbaric", while the Daily Express and the Daily Mail called it "depraved". The Guardian, the Financial Times, and El País characterised the bombing as "atrocious". Italian newspaper Il Giornale went further, describing Russian President Vladimir Putin as a "war criminal".
Josep Borrell, the European Union head of Foreign Affairs, and British Armed Forces Minister James Heappey joined Zelenskyy in labelling the bombing a war crime. The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) published a report confirming that the maternity hospital was clearly identifiable and operational, concluding that Russian forces had committed a war crime.
The attack was documented in the documentary "20 Days in Mariupol", which showcased the deadly aftermath of the bombing and the broader siege on Mariupol civilians. The film received a Pulitzer Prize and an Academy Award for Best Documentary, bringing attention to the Russian targeting of Ukrainian hospitals and health workers.
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Russian claims and justifications
Russia has offered varying claims and justifications regarding the bombing of a maternity hospital in Ukraine, denying any responsibility and presenting alternative narratives. Here is a breakdown of their arguments:
Russian officials initially denied that the bombing of the maternity hospital in Mariupol took place, suggesting that the incident was a "provocation" by Ukraine to discredit Russia. They accused Ukrainian forces of occupying the hospital and using patients and staff as human shields. This claim was refuted by eyewitness accounts and journalists who provided firsthand testimonies of the bombing and its aftermath.
The Russian embassy in the UK issued a series of tweets claiming that the hospital had been seized by the 'Ukrainian radicals' and all patients and nurses had long been evacuated. They further alleged that it was a legitimate military target as Ukrainian 'nationalist battalions' were using it as a base. These claims were widely condemned and described as disinformation by several fact-checking organizations.
Russian media outlets, known for their pro-Kremlin bias, echoed similar sentiments. They suggested that the damage to the hospital was caused by Ukrainian missile systems and accused Ukraine of spreading misinformation about Russian attacks on civilian targets. They also claimed that Ukraine had staged the incident to elicit sympathy and support from the West.
Additionally, Russian officials shifted the narrative by questioning the credibility of the sources providing information about the bombing. They accused Western media outlets of spreading fake news and claimed that their reports could not be trusted without evidence or justification. This tactic aimed to create doubt and confusion about the events that transpired.
Throughout the conflict, Russia has consistently denied targeting civilian infrastructure, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. They have maintained that their military operations are precise and only target military objectives, blaming any civilian casualties on Ukrainian forces using humans as shields. This narrative aligns with their broader strategy of justifying military actions as a 'special military operation' to 'demilitarize' and 'denazify' Ukraine.
It is important to note that these Russian claims and justifications contradict eyewitness accounts, journalistic reports, and evidence gathered by international organizations and human rights groups. The bombing of the maternity hospital has been widely condemned by the international community as a potential war crime. Russia's denial and disinformation tactics are consistent with their efforts to control the narrative and evade accountability for actions that violate international humanitarian law.
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Frequently asked questions
Yes. During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a children's and maternity hospital in Mariupol, Ukraine, was bombed several times by Russian forces.
The maternity hospital in Mariupol was bombed on March 9, 2022.
Yes. A pregnant woman and her baby died as a result of the bombing. Additionally, a documentary called "20 Days in Mariupol" captured the devastating aftermath of the bombing, including injured mothers and children, and a pregnant woman on a stretcher.
