Expectant mother, dubbed a 'ray of sunshine,' found sanctuary in a maternity hospital for her first baby. However, the tranquility was disrupted as the facility was struck by a missile from Russia.
In a tragic incident on July 28, 2025, a Russian missile attack targeted a maternity hospital and nearby medical facilities in Kamianske, a city in Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. The attack resulted in the deaths of three civilians, including a 23-year-old pregnant woman named Diana, and injured 22 others, among them nurses and medical workers.
This incident is part of a pattern of escalated Russian attacks on civilian targets in Ukraine, with a similar attack on a prison in Zaporizhzhia killing at least 16 prisoners and injuring nearly 100 on the same day. The United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) has characterized these attacks as potential violations of international humanitarian law, which forbids targeting civilians or civilian objects such as hospitals and prisons unless they are used for military purposes. Russia has denied responsibility for these attacks.
Diana Koshyk, the pregnant woman who lost her life in the attack, was described by her friends as a "ray of sunshine" who loved children and was eagerly awaiting her own. Koshyk and her husband had struggled to get pregnant and had multiple miscarriages. The maternity hospital in Kamianske was one of several clearly civilian targets that were struck by Russia.
The attack on the maternity hospital is not the first time such a facility has been targeted during the ongoing conflict. International reactions to these attacks have been swift and condemning, with the United Nations and human rights bodies emphasizing the need to respect international humanitarian law and to protect civilians during the conflict. The head of the HRMMU, Danielle Bell, stressed that prisoners and patients are civilians who must be protected, underscoring the serious legal implications of such strikes.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has expressed support for the determined stance taken by the US President, Donald Trump, who indicated his patience with Russian President Vladimir Putin was running out and threatened to impose secondary sanctions on Russia's oil and gas exports if Putin does not end the war. Zelensky accused the Russian leadership of wasting the world's time with peace talks while killing people.
Zelensky also stated that the deadly attacks demonstrate Russia's lack of interest in peace and called for harsh, painful, and effective sanctions against Russia due to its continued attacks. The UN and human rights bodies continue to monitor the situation closely and urge all parties involved to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law.
References:
- CNN
- The Guardian
- BBC News
- HRMMU Report
- UN News
- The world is appalled by Russia's recent missile attack on a maternity hospital in Kamianske, Ukraine, which resulted in the death of Diana Koshyk and injured several medical workers.
- Experts in health-and-wellness and mental-health expressed their deep concern over the impact of war-and-conflicts on the emotional and physical well-being of civilians, as seen in the Kamianske incident.
- Policymakers and legislators are discussing potential policy changes to address the ongoing war-and-conflicts in Ukraine, with the United States threatening secondary sanctions on Russia's oil and gas exports.
- General news outlets, including CNN, The Guardian, BBC News, and UN News, have reported extensively on the escalating violence in Ukraine, emphasizing the need for enforcement of international humanitarian law to protect civilians.
- Crime-and-justice organizations have expressed concern over the number of accusations of war crimes resulting from the recent attacks on civilian targets, such as hospitals and prisons, in Ukraine.
