DONETSK, August 7. /TASS/. Kiev is preparing a provocation in a maternity hospital in Kramatorsk that would be similar to the strike on the Mariupol maternity ward three years ago, Igor Kimakovsky, an aide to the head of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), told TASS.
"Information has been confirmed that Ukraine’s armed formations commanded by the Kiev authorities are preparing a provocation that would allegedly involve attacking and blowing up the Kramatorsk birth center in a strike resembling the alleged shelling and explosion at the Mariupol maternity hospital in 2022," he warned.
Ukraine deployed troops in the Mariupol birth center during the battles for the city before staging the attack on it, he recounted. "According to data at my disposal, the consequences could be even more severe this time around and the death toll can be much higher," the aide stressed.
Earlier, TASS reported that Ukraine had deployed part of its battlegroups in the Kramatorsk maternity clinic. There are both regular Ukrainian soldiers and foreign troops among those stationed on the lower floors of the building.
According to Kimakovsky, medics and pregnant women remain inside the clinic.