"Four years ago Russian troops were a few kilometres away from Leleka maternity hospital, beyond a pine forest and a lake. Vladimir Putin's plan to conquer Ukraine wrapping it into a new Russian empire began just down the road. They were meant to seize Kyiv and topple Volodymyr Zelenskyy's pro-western government. To the Kremlin's surprise, Ukraine fought back. A Russian armoured column was destroyed in nearby Bucha."
"I don't believe Ukraine will lose, ultimately. This is my internal feeling. Russia won't defeat us, said Valeriia Ivashchenko, who gave birth at the clinic. So many people have lost friends and loved ones. There's been so much destruction. It's taken a toll on both countries. Ukraine won't stop existing. Our life can't be called normal, but we try to adapt."
Leleka maternity hospital in Pushcha-Vodytsia stood near frontline positions during the initial Russian advance toward Kyiv. Russian forces aimed to seize Kyiv and overthrow the pro-Western government but encountered fierce Ukrainian resistance, including the destruction of an armoured column in Bucha. Staff treated wounded soldiers during a five-week battle before Russian troops withdrew from the Kyiv region, leaving hundreds of civilian victims. The hospital has since resumed delivering babies. Fighting continues in eastern Ukraine, with Moscow occupying about 20% of the country and extremely high military casualties during a slow advance in Donbas, while civilians adapt to ongoing disruption.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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