Mothers and babies shelter in basement of children's hospital in Kyiv

So far four children have been treated for shrapnel and bullet wounds at the hospital

Oncology patients hold up sheets of paper with the words "Stop War" at a basement used as a bomb shelter at the Okhmadet children's hospital in central Kyiv, Ukraine, on Monday. Photo: AP/Emilio Morenatti

In the dingy basement of Ohmatdyt Children's Hospital in Kyiv, mothers and babies find what comfort they can on makeshift beds and blankets laid out on either side of the concrete aisle.

Older children who are too sick to go home or flee the capital with their families following Russia's invasion of Ukraine are also adjusting to life under siege, staying away from windows and lying in corridors on intravenous drips.