[WATCH] Russian hospital bombing in Ukraine kills three people, including child

A Russian air strike on a maternity and children’s hospital in the southern city of Mariupol on Wednesday killed three people, including a child, Ukrainian officials said.

The attack is believed to have wounded at least 17 people and trapped others under the rubble.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the attack a “war crime” and the city council said the destruction is “colossal”.

A video Zelenskyy shared on Twitter shows widespread destruction in the hospital. “Atrocity! How much longer will the world be an accomplice ignoring terror? Close the sky right now! Stop the killings! You have power but you seem to be losing humanity,” he said, reiterating his call for a no-fly zone to be imposed over Ukraine.

Mariupol. Direct strike of Russian troops at the maternity hospital. People, children are under the wreckage. Atrocity! How much longer will the world be an accomplice ignoring terror? Close the sky right now! Stop the killings! You have power but you seem to be losing humanity. pic.twitter.com/FoaNdbKH5k

— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) March 9, 2022

UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the bombing of the hospital and called it “horrific”.

Mariupol, a key port city between Crimea that was annexed by Russia in 2014 and the separatist Donbas regions in eastern Ukrainian, is besieged by the Russian military. The city has come under heavy bombardment but Ukrainian forces remain in control.

Ukraine and Russia's foreign ministers are holding peace talks in Turkey on Thursday but the US warned Russia could be planning a chemical or biological attack in Ukraine.

The White House on Wednesday warned Russia could be planning a chemical or biological weapon attack in Ukraine with press secretary Jen Psaki saying "we should all be on the lookout".

She said Russia's claims about US biological weapon labs, and chemical weapon development in Ukraine, were preposterous. She called the false claims an "obvious ploy" to try to justify further premeditated, unprovoked attacks.

Meanwhile, the latest intelligence update by the British Defence Intelligence says the large Russian column north west of Kyiv has made little progress in over a week and is suffering continued losses at the hands of the Ukrainian armed forces.

Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine - 10 March 2022

Find out more about the UK government's response: https://t.co/uGIai2vjg2

🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/kUN8pCzuT4

— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) March 10, 2022

The intelligence bulletin says there has been a “notable decrease” in overall Russian air activity over Ukraine in recent days.

It also reports that Russia is deploying conscript troops to Ukraine despite previous assurances from President Vladimir Putin not to do so.

According to an update on the conflict prepared by the Institute for the Study of War, Russian forces continue to prepare for operations against Zaporizhya City but have not yet initiated them at scale.

Russian forces from Kherson appear to be encircling the southern city of Mykolaiv from the east but have not yet crossed the Southern Bug River, the ISW said. It also reports Russian operations against Odesa are unlikely to commence before Russia establishes a secure line of control from Crimea across the Southern Bug.