Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov confirmed that the bombing of a children's hospital and maternity hospital in Mariupol was a conscious and purposeful decision of the Russian army.
He stated this at a press conference in Antalya, after talks with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba.
Lavrov stressed that he considers this maternity hospital a military target.
"A few days ago, at a meeting of the UN Security Council, the Russian delegation presented the facts that this maternity hospital had long ago been taken over by the Azov battalion and other radicals, all the women in labor, all the nurses and in general all the staff were kicked out of there. It was the base of the ultra-radical Azov battalion," he said.
Lavrov admitted that he had seen reports from Mariupol indicating exactly the opposite, because the cameras showed that the women in labor were and had been injured, but he considered them manipulation because the media reports "did not focus on the other side."
To the world's outrage over the cynicism of the hospital bombing, the Foreign Ministry does not plan to pay attention. "This is not the first time we have seen pathetic cries about so-called atrocities committed by the Russian armed forces," Lavrov said.
Earlier, Lavrov refused to impose a 24-hour cease-fire in a meeting with Kuleba.
