Baby Delivered By Candlelight At Home As Russian Bombs Leave Mum Stranded

A pregnant Ukrainian woman was forced to give birth by candlelight at home as Russian bombs fell outside. Anna Tymchenko, 21, and husband Volodymyr were left trapped without medical help when a column of Kremlin military vehicles approached. Airstrikes had cut off the couple’s electricity and they had no heating or running water in their block of flats in Bucha, 30km northwest of Kyiv. The new parents feared the worst when their baby came out blue and didn’t cry – but broke down in tears themselves when the newborn started wailing. Speaking to the BBC about her ordeal, Anna said: ‘I never imagined that I would give birth in such conditions. It was surreal. It was my first child and I didn’t know anything.’ Initially, the plan was to give birth in the basement of the building, but Anna decided to stay in her apartment when temperatures plummeted and she struggled to breathe from the dust. A gynecologist in Bucha agreed to come and help but was stopped in his tracks by a Russian soldier who broke his phone.

Anna put her hope in Irina Yazova, her only neighbour with any medical experience. Using light from candles and freezing cold water, Irina helped Anna deliver her daughter, Alisa. Neighbour Viktoria Zabrodskaya, 49, said: ‘When the baby’s head came out, we got scared. She was blue and we didn’t know what to do. ‘Then Irina gently turned the baby’s head and she came out. She didn’t cry at first – we started hitting her, and then she cried and we all cheered.’ Their little girl arrived on March 8 – International Women’s Day. The family-of-three fled to Kyiv three days later after it was announced Russia would open a humanitarian corridor in Bucha. Dead bodies were lying on the streets and Russian tanks pointed guns at the road as Anna and Volodymyr were evacuated in a convoy with their newborn. While millions of Ukrainians have fled to neighbouring countries, the couple is currently unable to leave. It comes as Russian troops hold staff at the Chernobyl nuclear plant ‘hostage’. A nine-year-old named Sasha has had her arm amputated after she was shot while fleeing fighting in Kyiv.