Women and children feared dead after Russian airstrike ‘completely destroys’ maternity hospital in Mariupol

WOMEN and children are feared dead after a Russian airstrike hit a maternity hospital in Mariupol today. The city council claimed brutal Russian forces “dropped several bombs” on the hospital – and described the damage as “colossal”. TwitterThe city council claimed Russian forces ‘dropped several bombs’[/caption] TwitterThe strike hit a maternity hospital in Mariupol[/caption] TwitterHorror footage showed people being rushed out of the building[/caption] TwitterThe hospital was ‘completely destroyed’[/caption] Horror footage showed the charred remains of the hospital with wounded staff and patients being helped out of the building into a devastating scene of burning cars and rubble. Mariupol city council said: “The Russian occupying forces have dropped several bombs on the children’s hospital. The destruction is colossal.” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shared footage of the scene inside the hospital and said: “Direct strike of Russian troops at the maternity hospital. People, children are under the wreckage. Atrocity! “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.” Vyacheslav Abroskin, the former deputy chief of police in Ukraine, wrote on Facebook: “According to eyewitnesses, the maternity hospital no longer exists, there are many wounded and killed women.” He added: “F**k Russians, you will burn in hell!” Most read in News DOUBLE DOWN Live updates as Putin 'angry & frustrated' by Ukrainian resistance to invasion STUCK IN THE MUD Pics shows Russian tanks in traffic jam as troops stuck in -20C ‘freezers’ STORE HORROR Man, 53, killed outside Asda store 'in stabbing' as cops arrest six young men WE FIGHT ON Zelenskyy echoes Churchill to tell MPs 'we'll fight them in sea, air & streets' SQUADDIE GOES AWOL Serving Queen's Guard, 19, goes AWOL to fight Putin's forces in Ukraine DRINK UP & LEAVE Coca-Cola & Pepsi join McDonald's & Starbucks in stopping sales in Russia According to local reports, Pavel Kirilenko, head of the Donetsk Regional State Administration, said both the maternity unit and the children’s hospital were bombed. Days of shelling in Mariupol have cut residents off from the outside world and forced them to scavenge for food and water. Thousands of people are thought to have been killed in Ukraine – both civilians and soldiers – in two weeks of fighting since Putin’s forces stormed the country. The UN said more than two million people have now fled the country – the biggest exodus of refugees in Europe since the end of World War Two. Authorities announced a new ceasefire today to allow civilians to escape from towns around Kyiv, as well as the southern cities of Mariupol, Enerhodar and Volnovakha, Izyum in the east and Sumy in the northeast. But previous attempts to create safe evacuation corridors have largely failed due to attacks by Russian forces. THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY… The Sun is your go to destination for the best celebrity news, football news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures and must-see video. Download our fantastic, new and improved free App for the best ever Sun Online experience. For iPhone click here, for Android click here.  Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TheSun and follow us from our main Twitter account at @TheSun.