3 hospitals hit as Russian forces intensify siege of cities

An airstrike on a maternity hospital in the port city of Mariupol wounded women while they waited to give birth and buried children in the rubble

MARIUPOL, Ukraine -- An airstrike on a maternity hospital in the port city of Mariupol wounded women waiting to give birth and buried children in the rubble as Russian forces intensified their siege of Ukrainian cities. Bombs also fell on two hospitals in another city west of Kyvi.

The World Health Organization said Wednesday that it has confirmed 18 attacks on medical facilities since the Russian invasion began two weeks ago.

Ukrainian officials said the attack at a medical complex in Mariupul wounded at least 17 people.

The ground shook more than a mile away when the series of blasts hit. Explosions blew out windows and ripped away much of the front of one building. Police and soldiers rushed to the scene to evacuate victims, carrying a bleeding woman with a swollen belly on a stretcher past burning and mangled cars.