MIRACLE OF KYIV
Baby born in the underground
A MUM gave birth to a “miracle” baby as she sheltered from attack in an underground station in Kyiv.
The 23-year-old delivered baby girl Mia with the help of the police – and the tot has been dubbed a “beacon of hope”.
Heart-warming photos of Mia and her unnamed mother were shared by Hanna Hopko, a Ukrainian politician.
Ms Hopko said: “Mia was born this night in stressful environment – bombing of Kyiv.
“Her mom is happy after this challenging birth giving and immediately departing to shelter.
“When Putin kills Ukrainians we appeal to mothers in Russia and Belarus to protest against Russia war in Ukraine. We defend lives and humanity!”
Meanwhile, as many as 120,000 people have fled Ukraine into neighbouring countries. Poland has declared its border open to those seeking asylum from Ukraine, even for those without official documents.
The Polish government also said it had sent a hospital train to pick up those wounded in the war in Mostyska, western Ukraine, and take them to Warsaw for treatment.
Meanwhile, some Ukrainians were reportedly heading back into their home country to take up arms against Russian forces.
Shabia Mantoo, spokeswoman of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said yesterday: “Almost 116,000 have crossed international borders as of right now.
“This may go up, it’s changing every minute. It’s very fluid and changing by the hour.”
The agency expects up to four million Ukrainians could flee if the situation deteriorates further.
Those arriving were mostly women, children and the elderly after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy banned men of military age from leaving the country on Thursday.
Ms Mantoo said most were heading to Poland, Moldova, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia, and even some into Belarus – from where some Russian forces entered Ukraine.
But by far the largest numbers were arriving in Poland, where two million Ukrainians have already settled to work in recent years.
Many were driven away by Russia’s first incursions into Ukraine in 2014, to seek opportunities in the booming economy of the European Union nation.