It is a photo that has circulated around the world: that of a young pregnant woman injured, out of the rubble of the Mariupol maternity hospital on a stretcher, after the place was bombed by the Russians. The image quickly became a symbol of the horror experienced by civilians in the port city surrounded by Russian armed forces.
In video and photos taken by reporters after the hospital attack, the woman was seen stroking her bloody lower abdomen as rescuers carried her through the rubble of the beleaguered city of Mariupol, her blanched face reflecting his shock at what just happened. This is one of the most brutal moments in Russia’s 19-day war against Ukraine.
The Associated Press unfortunately reports this Monday morning that the young Ukrainian and her baby died. The woman, whose pelvis and hip were badly affected, had been rushed to another hospital, even closer to the front line, where doctors tried to keep her alive, but their efforts were vain. The medical team also delivered the baby by Caesarean section, but he showed “no signs of life”, the surgeon said.
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