Ukraine faces bloody Easter after deadly market strike (Qualified News Radio)

Stephen J. By Bose, Worth News Europe Bureau Chief

Kyiv/Budapest (meaningful news) – Ukraine faced a bloody Easter after Russian drone strikes on a street market in the Dnipropetrovsk region killed at least five people and injured 19. UN officials say the attack was the latest in a series of attacks that have led to an increase in the number of premature births among Ukrainian women, linked to stress caused by the ongoing bombing.

Authorities worked to extinguish fires in what was described as a Russian drone attack on market stalls and a shop in the city of Nikopol on Saturday. Bodies were seen lying nearby as many people were killed and injured.

In another attack, in the city of Sumy, homes, cars and utility networks were reportedly targeted, injuring about a dozen people.

Russian forces fired about 300 drones overnight, after President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of an “Easter surge”.

Zelensky said there had not been “a single hour of peace” for his people and accused Russia of intensifying attacks despite Kiev’s offer for an Easter ceasefire.

Impact on the most vulnerable

Violence is affecting even the most vulnerable people. The United Nations Population Fund said extreme stress from bombing exposure is contributing to increased rates of premature births.

Faye Callaghan, a health expert in Kiev, said frontline hospitals were reporting more babies being born too soon. “We have seen reports from frontline hospitals about increasing rates of preterm births,” he said.

“Babies born very early are physically more vulnerable… They are physically more vulnerable to developmental problems, infections, and it is also difficult for them to initiate breastfeeding,” the health expert said.

Callaghan said in an interview with Independent Television, “And they are being born very early, mainly as a result of stress. So women who are pregnant are also experiencing high levels of stress and psychological stress from the bombings.”

“Their partner is probably fighting, so they’re not there to support them.”

tension between both sides

However, there is also growing concern in parts of Russia as Ukraine increases attacks on energy infrastructure, aimed at cutting off Moscow’s key source of war revenues.

Russia’s NORSI oil refinery was hit on Easter Sunday, causing a fire, while fuel stores leaked after shrapnel hit the Baltic Sea port of Primorsk, officials said.

The humanitarian suffering also continues, with Ukraine’s president claiming some 35,000 Russians were killed or seriously injured last month – the highest level since the start of the war in February 2022.

Although those figures have not been independently verified, experts say total Russian and Ukrainian casualties in the more than four-year-long war are closer to 2 million.

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