David Beckham hands over his Instagram account to a Ukrainian doctor

Former England football captain and actor David Beckham recently handed over his Instagram account, and other social media handles to a Ukrainian doctor to highlight the "amazing" work that health workers are doing in the nation.

Beckham, the 46-year-old former Manchester United and Real Madrid midfielder and current co-owner of American Major League Soccer team Inter Miami, told his 71.6 million Instagram followers to look at his profile to see the work of Irina, a child anaesthesiologist, and her team amid the conflict.

Beckham, a goodwill ambassador for United Nations children's agency UNICEF, posted a video message and called on his followers to support the organisation's work in Ukraine.

Kharkiv has been hit by a barrage of Russian strikes that have destroyed many buildings since Moscow launched what it calls a "special operation" in Ukraine last month.

Russian President Vladimir Putin says the operation is aimed at disarming Ukraine and rooting out dangerous nationalists. Western nations call it an aggressive war of choice and have imposed punishing sanctions aimed at crippling Russia's economy.

Irina, head of the Regional Perinatal Centre, posted videos of a basement where she said pregnant women and mothers were evacuated on the first day of Russia's invasion. She also shared images of newborn babies dependent on oxygen generators, which were donated by UNICEF.

"The first days were the most difficult. We had to learn how to work with bombings and strikes," she said.

"We are probably risking our lives, but we don't think about it at all. We love our work."