Patients were safe thanks to the underground shelter and no one was injured during the strike, according to the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO).
32 new mothers and 22 newborns were evacuated to other facilities as the hospital was severely damaged. Attacks on hospitals violate international humanitarian law. It is the fifth UN-supported maternity hospital to be affected in Ukraine this year alone.
Attacks in other regions
Elsewhere in Ukraine, the Mykolaiv region was also targeted, resulting in the death of one child and the injury of several other residents, including children.
A school and other infrastructure were also damaged. The UN aid coordination office, OCHA, He said aid workers have provided emergency support to those in need.
In the latest round of drone strikes by Russia, a 13-year-old boy was killed in Kramatorsk, while a 13-year-old girl was killed in Voskresenske, according to reports from the United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, which called for “an end to the attacks and the senseless devastation of young lives.”
The human rights crisis in Afghanistan continues
Women and girls continue to be eliminated from public life by Taliban decrees, according to a new report from the UN human rights office.
In the period from August 2025 to January this year, the report found that girls continue to be banned from education beyond sixth grade, and medical graduation exams were held without women for the second year in a row in November.
Women who did not meet the chador requirement were removed from public transportation and denied access to markets and public services.
Elsewhere, Taliban security forces continue to prevent Afghan women, including UN staff, contractors and visitors, from entering UN facilities across the country.
A child receives treatment at a health center in Herat, Afghanistan.
Criminalized women and girls
Books written by women were removed from the shelves of bookstores and libraries, including university libraries in some provinces, regardless of their subject, content or nationality of the author.
“The de facto authorities have, in fact, criminalized the presence of women and girls in public life,” said UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk, presenting the report: “Women and girls are the present and the future, and the country cannot prosper without them.”
Since 2021, de facto authorities carried out 12 public executions, two of which occurred during the reporting period, in sports stadiums, in violation of the right to life. Corporal punishment is administered in public on a weekly basis.
Meanwhile, journalists and media workers continue to face arbitrary arrests and imprisonment due to “disproportionate restrictions on the content they produce.”
UN urges action to transform inefficient food systems
Every year, the world throws away approximately one billion tons of food that is absolutely safe for consumption. About 60 percent of food waste occurs at the household level, while the rest comes primarily from food service and retail.
The issue was in the spotlight on Monday, International Zero Waste Day.
The staggering amount of edible food we throw away is the result of inefficient food systems, from production to distribution to consumption.
With this year’s focus “Zero waste starts on your plate”, the UN calls for transforming food systems to make them more efficient, resilient and sustainable.
Transformation methods
For example, governments can promote climate and biodiversity plans alongside national policies that support these goals.
Companies can set measurable food waste reduction goals and integrate them into existing sustainability commitments.
Meanwhile, consumers can improve the way they buy, store and prepare food to reduce waste and save resources.