‘Parents weeping over their children’s broken bodies in the streets. The senselessness is staggering’: Jill Biden tears into Putin for ‘unthinkable’ attack on maternity ward that killed pregnant woman
- Jill Biden tore into Vladimir Putin for the ‘senseless’ attacks on a maternity ward in the Ukraine that killed a pregnant woman and her unborn child
- ‘The unthinkable bombing of a maternity ward,’ the first lady said. ‘The senselessness is staggering’
- A maternity hospital in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol was decimated in a direct hit by Russian rockets last week
- On Monday it was revealed a pregnant woman on a stretcher, pictured being carried out of the rubble, died along with her baby
Jill Biden tore into Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday for the ‘senseless’ attacks on a maternity ward in the Ukraine that killed a pregnant woman and her baby.
‘Like all of us, my heart has ached watching videos of Ukraine. Sick kids fleeing on makeshift medical trains, the unthinkable bombing of a maternity ward. Parents weeping over their children’s broken bodies in the streets. The senselessness is staggering,’ the first lady said.
A maternity hospital in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol was decimated in a direct hit by Russian rockets last week, leaving children buried in the rubble.
Footage showed badly wounded patients and nurses being evacuated from decimated buildings, while pregnant women were carried out on stretchers.
Leaders around the world condemned the attack and, on Monday, it was revealed one pregnant woman on stretcher, pictured being carried out of the rubble, died along with the baby.
In video and photos shot last Wednesday after the attack, the woman was seen stroking her bloodied lower abdomen as rescuers rushed her through the rubble in the besieged city of Mariupol.
It was among the most brutal moments so far in Russia’s 19-day war on Ukraine.
Jill Biden tore into Vladimir Putin for the ‘senseless’ attacks on a maternity ward in the Ukraine that killed a pregnant woman and her unborn child
Ukrainian emergency employees and volunteers carry the injured pregnant woman from the maternity hospital that was damaged by shelling in Mariupol on March 9
The woman was rushed to another hospital, closer to the frontline, where doctors worked to keep her alive. The medical staff told the Associated Press that both the woman, who has not been named, and her baby died.
Surgeon Timur Marin found the woman’s pelvis crushed and hip detached. Medics delivered the baby via caesarean section, but it showed ‘no signs of life’, Marin said.
In the Ukraine, there have been attacks on at least 31 health-care facilities or equipment that have been documented by the World Health Organization since the start of Russia’s assault two and half weeks ago.
The United Nations puts the death toll in the Ukraine at 596, although it said it ‘believes that the actual figures are considerably higher.’
Jill Biden called women’s bodies ‘casualties of war.’
‘Women have been told that they are dangerous. And that’s because they are—dangerous to corruption and injustice. When we raise our voices, we have the power to shatter the shields of oppression. That’s why cowardly men stop girls from learning. It’s why women’s bodies become casualties of war,’ she said.
The first lady made her remarks at the 2022 International Women of Courage Award Ceremony at the State Department.
She discussed the importance of women telling their stories and being a voice in their country’s future.
‘There can be no true democracy, no true prosperity, without women’s voices,’ said Biden. ‘Women warriors everywhere need to hear what’s possible.’
Mariana Vishegirskaya stands outside a maternity hospital that was damaged by shelling in Mariupol on March 9; Vishegirskaya survived the shelling and later gave birth to a girl in another hospital in Mariupol
A medical worker walks inside of the damaged by shelling maternity hospital in Mariupol, Ukraine, Wednesday, March 9
Secretary of State Antony Blinken, first lady Jill Biden, center, and U.S. Representative to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield listen during the 16th annual International Women of Courage (IWOC) Awards virtual ceremony at the State Department
The annual ceremony honors 12 women from around the world who work to improve their nations.
This year’s ceremony was held virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Both Jill Biden and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken paid tribute to the women of the Ukraine in their remarks.
‘Millions of Ukrainian women have fled their country with their families. Millions more stayed to help their country fight against Russia’s unprovoked unjustified war. I saw many of them on the border with Poland just about a week ago. And it’s something that stays embedded in your mind and memory,’ Blinken said.
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