Videos Show Nurses In Ukraine Moving Babies Into Makeshift Bomb Shelter As Families Flee Russian Invasion
Ukraine families are fleeing for their safety.
Twitter Heartbreaking footage from the eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro shows newborn babies being moved to a makeshift bomb shelter underneath a hospital bunker as Russian forces continue to invade the country.
Around a dozen newborns that were being tended and looked after in the neonatal unit were hastily moved, after fearing a bomb strike, to the basement of the hospital.
In the video, nurses can be seen caring for the infants, who were all swaddled in blankets, with several of the nurses rocking them in their arms, feeding them, some even managing to smile despite the horrible circumstances.
"This is the NICU. In a bomb shelter. Can you imagine?" Dr. Denis Surkov, chief of the neonatal unit at Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Children's Clinical Hospital told the New York Times in a text message. "This is our reality."
This isn't the first video that has emerged from cities in Ukraine that have been subjected to the attack ordered by Vladimir Putin.
Multiple videos and pictures have been released of families fleeing their homes in Ukraine, looking to seek safety from Russian forces.
One viral video captured a Ukrainian father in tears as he says goodbye to his young daughter and his partner before they were set to leave the country in search of safety, while the father was required by law to stay after Ukrainian rules restrict men aged 18-60 from crossing the border.
The heartbreaking video shows the father embracing his daughter, as the two of them are seen crying, before he watches her and her mother leave in a vehicle that will take them out of the country.
Large swarms of Ukrainians were seen fleeing the capital city, Kyiv, after hearing explosions, among other major cities in the country. Hoards of families took shelter inside train stations, while others rushed to gas stations, fueling their cars in an effort to hurriedly escape.
The United Nations refugee agency has said that the situation was quickly deteriorating after Russia’s invasion, estimating that several thousand had already fled with more expected to follow. They appealed to neighbouring countries to keep their borders open to people seeking a safe haven.
There have been men in Ukraine who've started fleeing before receiving an army call-ups, according to The Guardian. One 19-year-old man from the town of Svyalava said he had left both because he was scared of Russian assault and of potentially being called up to the Ukrainian army.
“My brother lives in Hungary and I’ll stay with him as long as it takes,” he saidn wanting to stay anonymous as he waited at the border post.
The Red Cross is seeking donations that could help rescue Ukrainian families.
If you want to help the people of Ukraine, the International Commitee of the Red Cross has been helping people affected by the conflict, urging anyone to donate on their website.
"It is dismaying that after enduring eight years of conflict, people now face more violence, pain, loss and turmoil. Fear, freezing temperatures and an uncertain future are what families in Ukraine are facing. Please donate," their website reads.
Nia Tipton is a writer living in Brooklyn. She covers pop culture, social justice issues, and trending topics. Follow her on Instagram.