KHERSON  –  In late November, Maria, a 22-year-old from Ponyativka in southern Ukraine, gave birth to a boy. She named her second child Ivan, after his father who had been dreaming about a son since he joined the army in 2023. Baby Ivan was the only child born that day in the district maternity hospital in Kherson, a city where more people die than are born and more decide to leave than stay. According to the local administration, just 15 babies were born in December while 256 people died and 311 fled. As Kherson dies out, its 83,000 residents – down from a population of more than 320,000 before the war – are focusing on how to survive relentless shelling by Russia and what locals have nicknamed “human safaris”.

Last summer, the Russian army appeared to adopt a new tactic. They started flying dozens of drones in south Ukraine to follow cars and people in a video game-like chase. They have dropped explosives on civilian targets, wreaking havoc, according to Ukrainian officials. In November and December, at least 16 people died in these attacks, while 144 were injured, local officials said. According to city council estimates, while in June only 5 percent of injuries and deaths were caused by drones and the rest by artillery and missiles, six months later in December 2024, drones were responsible for 60 percent of attacks against civilians.

“Children do not have a normal childhood. My daughter does not go to kindergarten. I can’t even take her for a walk,” Maria said, her eyes fixed on her newborn. The maternity ward she gave birth in was moved from the fourth floor to the basement as it was hit by Russian missiles on five different occasions for two years, from December 2022. Russia did not comment on any of these assaults. Construction work to restore the hospital has begun.

Kherson was Ukraine’s first major city to fall to Russian forces, days after Moscow’s full-scale invasion began but Ukrainian troops have since retaken it. A vast and strategic Black Sea port home to shipbuilding, pre-war Kherson was a vibrant coastal city rich in culture. In a 2021 study co-funded by the United Nations Development Programme, 80 percent of residents said it was a good place to live, work and raise a family. But the war has changed everything.

The waterfront maternity hospital faces Russian troops occupying the opposite riverbank. Her village is no safer. Amid continuous shelling and drone attacks, she moved to a neighbouring settlement, where her family found some respite. The move may have saved her life. In the summer, her house was destroyed in a drone attack. “Sometimes it’s scary, but I’ve gotten used to it. My five-year-old daughter tells me, ‘Mum, look, there’s a drone buzzing.’ Children understand everything,” she said. Fearful for her security, Maria requested Al Jazeera to withhold her surname and refused to be photographed. (Al Jazeera)

Photo: The maternity ward in a Kherson hospital was destroyed by Russian missiles. (Al Jazeera)