Russian law enforcement has initiated a criminal investigation following the tragic deaths of nine newborn babies at a maternity hospital in Siberia during the country's New Year holidays.
Criminal Case for Negligence
The Russia's Investigative Committee confirmed on Tuesday, 13 January 2026, that it has opened a criminal case into the incident at Maternity Hospital No. 1 in the city of Novokuznetsk. The charges relate to causing death by negligence.
According to statements from the local health ministry carried by Russian news agencies, the infants who died were part of a group battling severe intrauterine infections. Most were born prematurely.
Scale of the Crisis in Neonatal Care
The health ministry provided stark figures outlining the scale of the crisis. Between 1 December and 11 January, 234 children were born at the hospital.
Of these, 17 babies were in a serious condition in the hospital's intensive care unit. The ministry stated that 16 of these infants were premature, including some with extremely low birth weight, and all 17 had contracted a severe intrauterine infection.
"Unfortunately, nine children did not survive," the official statement concluded.
Official Reactions and Fallout
The hospital's head doctor, Vitaly Kheraskov, has been suspended from his post while the investigation is ongoing, as announced by regional Governor Ilya Seredyuk.
The tragedy has drawn a high-level political response. Valentina Matviyenko, speaker of Russia's upper house of parliament, described the infants' deaths as not only an irreparable loss for their families but also a "tragedy for the state."
Her comments referenced Russia's longstanding struggle to boost its declining birth rate. "All of the right lessons must be taken from this tragedy. Conclusions must be made at a federal level. It must never be repeated," Matviyenko asserted.
The investigation continues as authorities seek to determine the precise circumstances that led to this devastating loss of life in a Siberian maternity ward.
