Pregnant woman in widely-shared photo from Ukraine dies with her baby after Russian attack

The pregnant Ukrainian woman photographed last week rubbing her lower abdomen as rescuers carried her through the wreckage of a Russian-bombed maternity hospital has died, The Associated Press reported Monday. The woman, whose name is unknown, was meant to give birth at the hospital in Mariupol before the city was attacked.
Her baby has also died, per AP.
The devastating photo, now seen across the world, memorialized one of the "most brutal moments so far in Russia's now 19-day-old war on Ukraine," AP writes.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Upon her rescue from the rubble, the woman was carried to another hospital even closer to the frontline, where doctors worked tirelessly to save her. Her pelvis was crushed and her hip detached, surgeon Timur Marin told AP.
When she realized she was losing her child, medics said the woman cried out, "Kill me now!"
The baby was ultimately delivered via c-section, but it showed "no signs of life," Marin said. Afterward, "more than 30 minutes of resuscitation of the mother didn't produce results," he added.
News of the mother and child's deaths reinvigorated condemnation of the attack, which Russia has baselessly justified by claiming the hospital had been "had been taken over by Ukrainian extremists to use as a base," per AP. The country's ambassador to the United Nations and its embassy in London even called images of the bombing "fake news."
The tragic deaths serve as "a horrific reminder that [Russian President] Vladimir Putin's war is stealing the futures of many families," CNN's Brianna Keilar said Monday morning.
"Crimes against humanity," commented American priest and writer James Martin.
The Guardian's Moscow correspondent Andrew Roth called the news "absolutely horrific."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.
-
How global conflicts are reshaping flight paths
Under the Radar Airlines are having to take longer and convoluted routes to avoid conflict zones
-
Zohran Mamdani: the young progressive likely to be New York City's next mayor
In The Spotlight The policies and experience that led to his meteoric rise
-
The best film reboots of all time
The Week Recommends Creativity and imagination are often required to breathe fresh life into old material
-
How drone warfare works
The Explainer From Ukraine to Iran, it has become clear that unmanned aircraft are rapidly revolutionising modern warfare
-
How long can Nato keep Donald Trump happy?
Today's Big Question Military alliance pulls out all the stops to woo US president on his peacemaker victory lap
-
Are the UK and Russia already at war?
Today's Big Question Moscow has long been on a 'menacing' war footing with London, says leading UK defence adviser
-
The secret lives of Russian saboteurs
Under The Radar Moscow is recruiting criminal agents to sow chaos and fear among its enemies
-
Ukraine-Russia: is peace deal possible after Easter truce?
Today's Big Question 'Decisive week' will tell if Putin's surprise move was cynical PR stunt or genuine step towards ending war
-
What's behind Russia's biggest conscription drive in years?
Today's Big Question Putin calls up 160,000 men, sending a threatening message to Ukraine and Baltic states
-
Is the 'coalition of the willing' going to work?
Today's Big Question PM's proposal for UK/French-led peacekeeping force in Ukraine provokes 'hostility' in Moscow and 'derision' in Washington
-
Can Ukraine make peace with Trump in Saudi Arabia?
Talking Point Zelenskyy and his team must somehow navigate the gap between US president's 'demands and threats'