Coronavirus: More than 50 babies left stranded in Ukrainian hotel

Human rights ombudsman says 100 children are awaiting parents across country

More than 50 babies born to surrogate mothers have been left stranded in a Ukrainian hotel because the lockdown means new parents from overseas are unable to collect them.

Foreigners have not been allowed into Ukraine since authorities there issued a travel ban in March.

As a result of the restrictions, which are in place until at least 22 May, many parents have only seen their children through video calls and pictures.

The Hotel Venice, which is located on the outskirts of Kiev, has 51 babies that have yet to be collected by their parents.

The building, which is owned by the clinic BioTexCom, is normally used by parents who stay there while picking up their children.

BioTexCom released footage showing the babies lying in rows of cots to increase public awareness about the issue.

Rafa Aires from Spain is one of 16 parents who has managed to get to Ukraine so far.

Mr Aires arrived in the country before lockdown was imposed and was united with his daughter Marta. His wife was unable to travel because of work commitments.

However, he is unable to leave Kiev because he has not yet finished the paperwork and because almost all flights have been grounded.

"Every day I make video calls with my wife for one hour or an hour and a half for her to see the baby," he said. "It is very difficult."

"Nurses and medical personnel in this hotel are wonderful. They make my life easier," he added.

The Ukrainian government has said that parents are only allowed to enter the country following a request from their respective embassy.

Lyudmyla Denisova, the human rights ombudsman for the Ukrainian parliament, said that the issue may get worse if the border remains closed for much longer.

"About 100 children are already waiting for their parents in different centres of reproductive medicine. And if quarantine is extended, then it will not be about hundreds, but about thousands," she said.

Ms Denisova added that the footage from the hotel in Kiev demonstrated that Ukraine has a “massive and systemic” surrogacy industry.

She suggested looking into the law and possibly changing it so that only Ukrainian parents could use these services.

There are around 50 clinics in the country that provide these services to parents from countries including the UK, the US and China.

At BioTexCom, surrogate mothers usually receive between $15,000 (£12,334) and $17,000 (£13,990) for their role.

Agencies have contributed to this report