Russia Bombs Ukrainian Maternity Ward After 2 Babies Born: Health Minister

Russian forces reportedly bombed a maternity hospital in the city of Kherson just moments after a baby was born, Ukrainian officials said.

Ukrainian Health Minister Viktor Liashko posted about the shelling on his Facebook account Tuesday, saying two babies were born at the hospital the same day, with one arriving just "minutes" before the attack.

"Russia insidiously shelled another maternity hospital in Kherson," Liashko said in his post. "Did the terrorists know where they were aiming? In the 11th month of war, I can confidently say that yes."

The Ukraine official added, "Fortunately, no babies ... no hospital staff were hurt this time."

Emine Dzheppar, Ukraine's first deputy minister of foreign affairs, also posted about the attack on her Twitter account and shared photos of the destroyed hospital, capturing the post with the hashtag, "#StandWithUkraine."

Russia was previously under heavy scrutiny in March after its troops bombed a children's and maternity hospital in the city of Mariupol, in the eastern Donetsk region. At the time, the International Criminal Court (ICC) and United Nations Human Rights Council launched an investigation into allegations that Russia had committed war crimes in the attack, which injured 17 people.

"Having no success on the battlefield, Russia is trying to fight newborn Ukrainians," Liashko added in his post.

Ukrainian officials reported that Russian troops had suffered major losses over the holiday weekend, losing approximately 550 soldiers and five tanks between Christmas Day and Boxing Day alone. In total, reports estimate that Russian President Vladimir Putin has lost over 100,000 soldiers since Russia invaded Ukraine in February.

Putin has reportedly struggled to sustain high morale among his soldiers, including within his private mercenaries referred to as the Wagner Group. On Tuesday, a video shared on social media showed members of the private army demanding additional aid from Russian military officials. Wagner members also specifically called out General Valery Gerasimov, Russia's chief of general staff of the armed forces, using expletives.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has also reported incidents of Russian soldiers fleeing the front lines in the Luhansk region. According to an operation update on Tuesday morning, Russian military leadership has started to increase the "number of patrols to detain and return deserters to the units," Ukrainian officials said.

Newsweek has reached out to the Russian Foreign Ministry for comment.