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Ukrainian babies born in air-raid shelters as Russia continues its invasion
Pictures and videos on social media show mothers giving birth to babies in shelters amid the invasion and hospitals caring for newborns in basements
February 26, 2022 12:59pm
Updated: February 27, 2022 10:50am
As Russia continues its attack on Ukraine, many Ukrainians have sought shelter from air raids in subway stations or shelters. Others are creating makeshift shelters to protect themselves from shelling and bombing.
Pictures and videos on social media show mothers giving birth to babies in shelters amid the invasion and hospitals caring for newborns in basements as Ukrainians eagerly await for the attack to end.
In one such shelter, a Ukrainian woman gave welcomed a baby girl on Friday.
“First (to our knowledge) baby was born in one of the shelters in Kyiv. Under the ground, next to the burning buildings and Russian tanks… We shall call her Freedom! Believe in Ukraine,” tweeted Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
First (to our knowledge) baby was born in one of the shelters in Kyiv. Under the ground, next to the burning buildings and Russian tanks… We shall call her Freedom! 💛💙 Believe in Ukraine, #StandWithUkraine pic.twitter.com/gyV7l2y9K1
— MFA of Ukraine 🇺🇦 (@MFA_Ukraine) February 26, 2022
Ukrainian Minister of Healthcare Viktor Liashko also shared pictures of two children that were born in a shelter amid “shelling and explosions.”
"Yesterday in Kherson, under the shelling, two boys were born ... Two new lives that already have War in their genetic code," he wrote. “We and they will never forget, and never forgive!”
"Life goes on, we give birth to children, and no one can defeat us!" he continued.
A hospital in the eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro moved newborn babies into a makeshift bomb shelter on the lower level of the building as Russian forces bombed the city on Thursday.
A video shared by Dr. Surkov shows dozens of newborns from the neonatal intensive care unit being looked after by nurses in what appears to be a storage room or basement of the hospital.
Some of the nurses are shown providing air to the newborns who had difficulty breathing using inflatable bags.
“This is the NICU. In a bomb shelter. Can you imagine?” Dr. Denis Surkov, chief of the neonatal unit, at Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Children’s Clinical Hospital, told the Times in a WhatsApp message. “This is our reality.”
“We were nervous, very confused,” Dr. Surkov said.
