A nannie carries a baby to the crib after changing his diaper in a nursery in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Saturday. AP

Some just a few days old, the infants are well cared for, but even below ground the blasts of occasional shelling can be heard clearly.

READ MORE

Russians push deeper into Ukraine's port city Mariupol

Russian troops rain lethal fire on Ukrainian cities

Many of the surrogacy center's nurses are also stranded in the shelter because it’s too dangerous to travel to and from their homes. Ukrainian troops have been resisting Russian forces in Kyiv's suburbs as they attempt to encircle the city.

Nannies take care of newborn babies in a basement converted into a nursery in Kyiv, Ukraine. AP

"Now we are staying here to preserve our and the babies’ lives,” said Lyudmilia Yashchenko, a 51-year-old nurse. "We are hiding here from the bombing and this horrible misery.”

Yashchenko said they leave briefly during the day to get some fresh air but don’t dare stay out too long. She worries about her own children, too - both her sons, ages 22 and 30, are fighting to defend their country.

Exhaustion is constant.

"We are almost not sleeping at all,” Yashchenko said. "We are working round the clock.”

Baby bottles wait to be filled in a basement converted into a nursery in Kyiv, Ukraine. AP

Ukraine has a thriving surrogate industry and is one of the few countries that allow the service for foreigners. These babies’ parents live in Europe, Latin America and China.

Yashchenko would not say how many parents have come to get their children, how many infants are still waiting or how many more surrogate mothers are expected to deliver soon.

While there's plenty of food and baby supplies to care for their young charges, the nurses are left to hope and wait for the newborns to be picked up - just as they wait for the war to end.

Associated Press