• A pregnant Ukrainian woman shouted, "Kill me now" as she was giving birth.
  • The woman had previously been a victim of a Russian airstrike at a maternity ward in Mariupol.
  • The woman and her baby died, according to the Associated Press.

"Kill me now!" These were the words a pregnant Ukrainian woman shouted to medics when she realized she was losing her baby, the Associated Press reported on Monday. Her baby did not survive, neither did the woman, whose body was taken by her husband before medical staff learned her name.

She had been wounded when Mariupol maternity hospital was shelled by Russian forces on Wednesday, March 9, killing three. 

The woman was one of three pregnant women impacted by the blast whom the outlet was able to track down — two of whom survived and gave birth to daughters.

A harrowing photo of the pregnant woman on a stretcher depicting the aftermath of the blast was heavily shared on social media.

 

The woman had suffered from a crushed pelvis and detached hip, according to the AP, which reported that she was transported to another hospital nearer to the front lines of Russia's war on Ukraine where she underwent an emergency cesarean delivery. 

Dr. Timur Marin told the AP that "more than 30 minutes of resuscitation of the mother didn't produce results," and that "Both died."

The shelling attack occurred on Wednesday, and Russia's foreign minister made baseless claims that the hospital was host to the Ukrainian military, Insider reported.

At least three civilians died — including a child — and 17 more were injured, according to the Insider report.

 

Top officials at UNICEF, the World Health Organization, and the United Nations Population Found called the targeting of vulnerable populations such as babies, children, pregnant women, and those who are ill "an act of unconscionable cruelty" in a joint Sunday statement. 

"The health care system in Ukraine is clearly under significant strain, and its collapse would be a catastrophe. Every effort must be made to prevent this from happening…International humanitarian and human rights law must be upheld, and the protection of civilians must be our top priority," UN officials added.

There have been more than 4,300 births since the start of the war, and more than 80,000 more are expected to occur within the next three months, according to the UN.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has lasted 19 days thus far killing approximately 600 people, though the number is likely an undercount.

Read the original article on Insider