Russian attack on Kharkiv damages maternity hospital, sending patients fleeing

PHOTO CAPTION: A view shows a building hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the downtown of Kharkiv, Ukraine July 11, 2025. REUTERS/Sofiia Gatilova

KHARKIV, Ukraine  -  A Russian drone attack on the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on Friday damaged a maternity hospital, authorities said, terrifying patients as windows shattered and shards of glass fell on to the beds, leaving families rushing to shelter their babies. 

Three women and three newborns suffered acute stress and received medical help, according to Kharkiv's regional prosecutors.

Oleksandra Lavrynenko was at the hospital after just giving birth. "We woke up and heard a very loud whistle. My husband and I got up and quickly went to our little one, and at that moment there was a hit and the windows shattered," she said.

They rushed to shelter one-day-old Maksym underground.

"It was very scary, because I was so full of adrenaline that I probably forgot that I had stitches. Now I am slowly recovering from the shock," Lavrynenko said.

"It is very difficult and scary to give birth at this time," she said, laying next to her son.

Shards of glass littered the medical facility's floors and beds and patients and staff prepared to evacuate.

Oleksandr Kondriatskyi, one of the doctors, said the attack damaged the side of the building where the delivery and surgery rooms were located.

"Everyone, both the staff and the women, suffered severe stress," he said, adding that some of the patients only gave birth a couple days ago and had had surgery.

Russia has increased the intensity of aerial attacks in recent weeks, and carried out more missile and drone strikes across Ukraine. 

It has frequently targeted Ukraine's second largest city, Kharkiv, located in the northeast of the country, since launching its full-scale invasion in 2022.

Nine people were injured in Kharkiv and an apartment building was also damaged in the attack. One person died and at least five more were injured as a result of various Russian attacks over the past day in the surrounding region, governor Oleh Syniehubov said.

 (Reporting by Vitalii Hnidyi; Writing by Anastasiia Malenko; Editing by Alexandra Hudson // REUTERS)