Ukraine's surrogate babies stranded by lockdown

Fifty-one babies born to surrogate mothers are stranded in Ukraine -- lying in rows of cots in a small hotel on the outskirts of Kiev, as the lockdown prevents parents from the United States, Europe and elsewhere from collecting them.

Ukraine imposed a ban on foreigners entering in March, and most parents have only seen their newborns through pictures and video calls with the clinic.

Rafa Aires from Spain managed to get in before the lockdown. He was united with his daughter Marta but cannot leave as Kiev has suspended almost all flights and he needs to finish the paperwork.

He says the situation has been tough on him and his wife, waiting at home:

"Every day I make video calls with my wife for one hour or an hour and a half for her to see a baby. It is the only thing I can do for my wife to stay happy. It is very difficult, it is very difficult. (...) The nurses and medical personnel in this hotel are wonderful for me. They make my life easier."

The government says it can only permit parents to enter Ukraine if it receives a request from the relevant embassy.

So the BioTexCom clinic, which runs The Hotel Venice, released video footage of the babies to raise public awareness and spur the government into acting more quickly.

Reaction from the authorities was then swift.

Lyudmyla Denisova, a human rights expert for the Ukrainian parliament, said the video showed the country had a "massive and systemic" surrogacy industry where babies were advertised as a "high quality product."

"She suggested looking into changing the law to allow only Ukrainian parents to use such services.

She also ordered checks on the clinic but said she found that BioTexCom was following all procedures correctly.

Surrogacy is legal in Ukraine and at BioTexCom, a surrogate mother receives about $15,000-$17,000.

Currently, the parents of 16 of the babies have been able to travel to Ukraine so far.