Zelensky accuses world of ‘losing humanity’ by refusing to provide no-fly zone over Ukraine

An injured pregnant woman walks downstairs in a maternity hospital damaged by shelling in Mariupol, Ukraine, on March 9.Evgeniy Maloletka/The Associated Press

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused the world of “losing humanity” by refusing to provide a no-fly zone over his country, after a Russian air strike destroyed a maternity hospital in the besieged port city of Mariupol.

Seventeen people, including women in labour, were injured in the attack. Video footage suggested the missile actually narrowly missed the hospital and smashed into the adjacent parking lot. The air strike occurred during what was supposed to be a ceasefire in Mariupol, which is on the Sea of Azov, and which has been under heavy attack since the first hours of the now two-week-old war.

“Direct strike of Russian troops at the maternity hospital. People, children are under the wreckage. Atrocity!” Mr. Zelensky said in a social-media post. “How much longer will the world be an accomplice ignoring terror? Close the sky right now! Stop the killings! You have power but you seem to be losing humanity.”

Video footage of the maternity hospital taken after the blast showed a large crater in the ground just metres from the hospital. All the windows and part of the outer wall of the three-storey building were blown out by the force of the blast. Several cars in the parking lot were scorched.

The Ukrainian government said Wednesday that at least 1,170 people had been killed in Mariupol alone since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the attack on Ukraine. Satellite images of the port city published by Maxar, a private company, showed widespread damage to entire neighbourhoods.

Follow live updates on the war in Ukraine

Who is Volodymyr Zelensky? The Ukrainian president’s astonishing transition from TV comic to wartime leader

On Wednesday, Amnesty International said a March 3 Russian air strike, which killed 47 people in the northern city of Chernihiv, “may constitute a war crime.” In the attack, at least eight unguided aerial munitions – known as “dumb bombs” – struck a public square in the city.

The avowedly neutral International Committee of the Red Cross also voiced concern at the fate of civilians in the conflict. “Families are huddled underground for hours on end to seek refuge from fighting. Hundreds of thousands of people have no food, no water, no heat, no electricity and no medical care,” the ICRC said in a statement.

Separately, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said power was out at the disused Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which is under Russian military control. Mr. Kuleba said the plant, which exploded in 1986 when both Russia and Ukraine were part of the Soviet Union, could function on generators for 48 hours, after which cooling systems at the facility for spent nuclear fuel would stop, raising the possibility of radiation leaks.

“I call on the international community to urgently demand Russia to cease fire and allow repair units to restore power supply,” Mr. Kuleba wrote on Twitter.

People rush to board a train at a railway station in Odesa, Ukraine.BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images 1 of 40

A Ukrainian soldier walks past barricades set outside the entrance of the Odesa National Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet in Odesa, Ukraine.ALEXANDROS AVRAMIDIS/Reuters 2 of 40

A man pushes a baby stroller as he waves to Ukrainian soldiers on an armoured personnel carrier passing by in the Vyshgorod region close to Kyiv, Ukraine.Efrem Lukatsky/The Associated Press 3 of 40

A member of the Ukrainian Territorial Defence Forces keeps watch in central Kyiv, Ukraine.GLEB GARANICH/Reuters 4 of 40

An elderly woman walks down an empty street in central Kyiv, Ukraine.GLEB GARANICH/Reuters 5 of 40

A Russian military winter hat lies among belongings Russian soldiers left behind after Ukrainian forces routed their armoured vehicles outside Brovary near Kyiv, Ukraine.THOMAS PETER/Reuters 6 of 40

People walk between destroyed cars as they evacuate from the Irpin town, outside of Kyiv, Ukraine.VALENTYN OGIRENKO/Reuters 7 of 40

Territorial Defence Forces members help to evacuate a man from the Irpin town outside of Kyiv, Ukraine.VALENTYN OGIRENKO/Reuters 8 of 40

A man carries a baby as he crosses the Irpin river next to a destroyed bridge during evacuation from the Irpin town, outside of Kyiv, Ukraine.VALENTYN OGIRENKO/Reuters 9 of 40

A baby stroller left by people fleeing from the Irpin town is seen next to a destroyed bridge over the Irpin river.VALENTYN OGIRENKO/Reuters 10 of 40

Volunteers collect food, clothes and other goods in an exhibition pavilion, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Brussels, Belgium.YVES HERMAN/Reuters 11 of 40

A resident cries as she evacuates the city of Irpin, north of Kyiv.ARIS MESSINIS/AFP/Getty Images 12 of 40

A Ukrainian serviceman talks with a resident in a basement for shelter in the city of Irpin, north of Kyiv.ARIS MESSINIS/AFP/Getty Images 13 of 40

Cars drive past a destroyed Russian tank as a convoy of vehicles evacuating civilians leaves Irpin, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine.VADIM GHIRDA/The Associated Press 14 of 40

Residents wait to be evacuated from the city of Irpin, north of Kyiv.ARIS MESSINIS/AFP/Getty Images 15 of 40

A woman covers her nose as she evacuates the city of Irpin, north of Kyiv.ARIS MESSINIS/AFP/Getty Images 16 of 40

A Ukranian soldier hugs his wife in the city of Irpin, north of Kyiv.ARIS MESSINIS/AFP/Getty Images 17 of 40

A local retiree Nataliya Mykolaivna, 64, gestures next to a minibus, bringing supplies and gifts soldiers and residents, destroyed by Russian shelling at a short distance from the frontline in Horenka, northern Kyiv.SERGEI SUPINSKY/AFP/Getty Images 18 of 40

A destroyed Russian tank is seen after battles on a main road near Brovary, north of Kyiv, Ukraine.Felipe Dana/The Associated Press 19 of 40

Destroyed Russian tanks are seen on a main road after battles near Brovary, north of Kyiv, Ukraine.Felipe Dana/The Associated Press 20 of 40

Residents evacuate the city of Irpin, north of Kyiv.ARIS MESSINIS/AFP/Getty Images 21 of 40

Shrapnel punched in the door of the private maternity clinic Leleka located at a short distance from the frontline in Horenka, northern Kyiv.SERGEI SUPINSKY/AFP/Getty Images 22 of 40

Ukrainian emergency employees work at the side of the damaged by shelling maternity hospital in Mariupol, Ukraine.Evgeniy Maloletka/The Associated Press 23 of 40

The aftermath of Russian artillery shelling on a residential area in Mariupol where a rocket hit a house, according to the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Mariupol, Ukraine.ARMED FORCES OF UKRAINE/Reuters 24 of 40

Ukrainian servicemen stand guard at a check point near the village of Velyka Dymerka, 40 km east of Kyiv.DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP/Getty Images 25 of 40

Refugees from Ukraine arrive from Gdynia in Poland after travelling with a Stena Line ferry to Karlskrona, Sweden.JOHAN NILSSON/AFP/Getty Images 26 of 40

U.S. troops prepare to fire Stinger missiles from their Stryker armored fighting vehicle during Saber Strike military drill in Rutja, Estonia.INTS KALNINS/Reuters 27 of 40

A Ukrainian serviceman takes a shooting position as he looks at approaching vehicles in Irpin, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine.VADIM GHIRDA/The Associated Press 28 of 40

A child looks out a steamy bus window with drawings on it as civilians are evacuated from Irpin, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine.Vadim Ghirda/The Associated Press 29 of 40

Ukrainian servicemen board a train as they depart in the direction of Kyiv at the central train station in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv.ALEKSEY FILIPPOV/AFP/Getty Images 30 of 40

People carry their belongings as they flee, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Odessa, Ukraine.STRINGER/Reuters 31 of 40

People wait outside an immigration office after fleeing from Ukraine to Belgium in Brussels.YVES HERMAN/Reuters 32 of 40

British national newspapers on Thursday, in London, showing the reaction to the report of an airstrike on Mariupol hospital in Ukraine.Alastair Grant/The Associated Press 33 of 40

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau walks with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki for a meting at the Chancellery in Warsaw.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press 34 of 40

A person walks past the "Slovo" building in Kharkiv, Ukraine.STRINGER/Reuters 35 of 40

Tanks are seen being destroyed on the outskirts of Brovary, Ukraine, in this screengrab from an undated handout video obtained by Reuters on March 10, 2022.AZOV HANDOUT/Reuters 36 of 40

A Ukrainian Territorial Defence Forces member hugs a resident who left his home following Russian artillery shelling in Irpin, Ukraine,Oleksandr Ratushniak/The Associated Press 37 of 40

A man rides a bicycle in front of a damaged by shelling apartment building in Mariupol, Ukraine.Evgeniy Maloletka/The Associated Press 38 of 40

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and US Vice President Kamala Harris prior to a meeting at the office of the Prime Minister of Poland in Warsaw.SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images 39 of 40

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba speaks during a news conference after meeting with his counterparts Russian Sergei Lavrov and Turkish Mevlut Cavusoglu in Antalya, Turkey.MURAD SEZER/Reuters 40 of 40

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in Moscow that “Russian forces do not fire on civilian targets.” Russia describes the war as a “special military operation” to disarm Ukraine and remove the supposedly “Nazi” government of Mr. Zelensky, who is Jewish.

Mr. Zelensky and his government have repeatedly asked for the 30-member NATO military alliance to impose a no-fly zone to stop Russian air strikes on Ukrainian cities.

Thousands of civilians have been killed since the war began, and more than 2.2 million Ukrainians, out of a prewar population of 44 million, have now fled the country.

In Berlin, Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland called the bombing of the hospital in Mariupol an “atrocity.” Ms. Freeland said Canada and other allies were helping Ukraine with military and economic supports as well as sanctions on Russia. But she acknowledged that support was only going so far.

“The reality is when it comes to the actual fighting, the Ukrainians are fighting alone,” she said. “They’re fighting for all of us, but they’re fighting alone. So I have to say speaking for myself as a person, I find those appeals incredibly moving.”

A 12-hour ceasefire was supposed to take effect Wednesday, allowing civilians to leave Mariupol, as well as four other front-line cities in Eastern Ukraine: Sumy, Enerhodar, Izyum and Volnovakha.

Five other humanitarian corridors were supposed to open to allow for women and children to leave the war-battered suburbs northwest of Kyiv, and travel to the relative safety of the centre of the Ukrainian capital.

Some convoys of evacuees managed to escape the suburbs of Kyiv, but explosions could be heard throughout the day in the capital, and heavy fighting continued throughout the country.

Thursday could include the highest-level diplomatic talks between Russia and Ukraine since the war began, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Ukrainian counterpart Mr. Kuleba expected to meet in the Turkish city of Antalya along with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.

Ukraine’s military says it has inflicted heavy losses on the invading army, and Russia acknowledged for the first time on Wednesday that it had sent conscript soldiers across the border to take part in the invasion. Ukraine says it nonetheless needs protection from Russia’s much larger air force.

Ukrainian officials say a Russian strike hit a children's hospital and maternity facility in the besieged southeastern port city of Mariupol on Wednesday, March 9. The Associated Press

The United States on Tuesday rejected a surprise offer from Poland to transfer all its Russian-made MiG-29 fighter jets – which Ukrainian pilots are trained to fly – to the U.S. air base in Ramstein, Germany, so they could be transferred from there to Ukraine. The Pentagon and Germany have both dismissed the plans, fearing it could provoke a wider conflict between Russia and NATO.

Former Ukrainian Defence Minister Andriy Zagorodnyuk told The Globe and Mail on Wednesday that he hoped the U.S. would reconsider the Polish offer.

“We need more air defence capabilities, and these jets are perfect for intercepting the other planes in the air and even some missiles. So, of course, this would be a great addition to our air defence capabilities,” he said. “All this humanitarian crisis is partly caused by daily bombing and nightly bombing of Ukrainian cities – which we could address and that would be a huge part of our war effort.”

Russia has sought to portray itself as “liberating” Ukraine from Mr. Zelensky’s pro-Western government. However, in the southern city of Kherson – the largest centre so far to fall under Russian control – a large crowd of protesters took to the streets, waving Ukrainian flags and shouting at the occupying army to go home.

Russia’s National Guard, which is usually deployed to counter unrest at home, arrested more than 400 people.

“The city has a curfew. Nobody can go out,” Dementiy Biely, a political analyst based in the city, told The Globe in an exchange of messages. “Hardly anyone is safe from the occupation.”

With a report from Marieke Walsh in Berlin

Our Morning Update and Evening Update newsletters are written by Globe editors, giving you a concise summary of the day’s most important headlines. Sign up today.