Pregnant Ukrainian woman begged medics to let her die
A HEAVILY pregnant woman from Mariupol, a photo of whom became one of the defining images of the Ukraine war, begged medics to let her die after she learnt her unborn baby would not live.
Irina Kalinina was dragged from the rubble of the city’s maternity hospital on March 9 after a Russian air strike.
An image of her being carried on a stretcher made front pages around the world, becoming synonymous with the horrors of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Irina and her son, who was delivered by emergency caesarean, succumbed to their injuries. At the time, her identity was not known, but she was since identified by her husband, Ivan. He is now living in Porthcawl, South Wales.
He told BBC’S Panorama they had been trying for years to have a child and had named their unborn son Miron, after the Russian word for peace. He said he felt “completely destroyed” after his wife and child were killed. “I don’t know how to describe the pain and loss,” Mr Kalinina said. “I was completely destroyed. I couldn’t believe Irina died.”