Injured Woman in Ukraine Gives Birth After Surviving Russian Airstrike on a Functioning Hospital

A day after surviving a Russian airstrike on a children's hospital and maternity ward, a woman in Ukraine gave birth.

According to Good Morning America, Mariana Vishegirskaya, a beauty blogger, gave birth to a daughter, named Veronika, on Thursday in Mariupol, Ukraine. Images taken by an Associated Press photographer show Vishegirskaya recovering in bed after the birth, with her newborn and husband by her side.

In the photos, the woman can be seen wearing the same polka dot outfit that she was photographed in the day before, while she was rushing to evacuate the attacked hospital in Mariupol, a city in southeastern Ukraine.

After the attack, she had blood on her face, as she carried a bag and blanket while making her way downstairs to evacuate, a photograph showed. 

The airstrike on the children's hospital and maternity ward in Mariupol was one of 26 attacks on health care facilities in Ukraine since Russia's invasion of the country began last month, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, per ABC News. 

Immediately after the airstrike, Russian officials claimed that the attack was staged, but they later confirmed they bombed it and claimed the hospital was being used by Ukrainian "radicals."

Meanwhile, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights spokesperson Elizabeth Throssell told reporters on Friday that the Russian's information was not true. "It was a functioning hospital," she said.

"We remind Russian authorities that directing attacks against civilians and civilian objects as well as so-called bombardment in towns and villages and other forms of indiscriminate attacks are prohibited under international law and may amount to war crimes," Throssell said.

Per the BBC, the Russian embassy in the UK tweeted a conspiracy theory that Vishegirskaya was an actress and the aftermath of the attack had been staged.

Further claims circulating online suggested that Vishegirskaya was not even pregnant in the first place. However, the beauty blogger revealed she was pregnant in January to her followers—weeks before the invasion—and later asked them whether they thought she would have a girl or a boy.

Meanwhile. Ukraine's ambassador to the UN, Sergiy Kyslytsya, who held up a picture of Ms Vishegirskaya and her newborn daughter during remarks at the UN, told reporters that he wanted to share "very good news".

"Miss Mariana, the pregnant woman gave birth to a healthy daughter last night. Her name is Veronika. Here she is with her father. No matter what the Russian lies are about herself, her family, and the incident," he said.

He also added that more than 1,500 civilians had been killed by Russia in Mariupol, adding that the place has gone without water or electricity for days after being surrounded by Russian forces and were several attempts to establish evacuation corridors had failed. Ukraine also said that three people, including a child, had been killed in the hospital strike alone.

"For the first time since World War Two people are being buried in mass graves in Ukrainian cities," Kyslytsya said.
 
According to CBS News, officials say at least 1,200 civilians have been killed in Mariupol since Russia invaded Ukraine last month. 

Disclaimer: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a developing story, and we’ll update as we learn more. Information is swiftly changing and Women Working is committed to providing the most recent and verified updates in our articles and reportage. However, considering the frequency in developments, some of the information/data in this article may have changed since the time of publication.

References:

https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/news/story/woman-ukraine-birth-surviving-russian-airstrike-hospital-83393149

https://abcnews.go.com/International/live-updates/russia-ukraine/?id=83390885#83389247

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ukraine-mariana-vishegirskaya-injured-russia-hospital-shelling-mariupol-gives-birth-daughter/

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60715492

Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Photo by Chris McGrath