On Monday, Russia launched a missile barrage across Ukraine, killing dozens and damaging a children’s hospital in Kyiv, an assault condemned as a ruthless attack on civilians. Volunteers, including hospital staff and rescue workers, searched the debris at the Okhmatdyt pediatric hospital, desperately seeking survivors.
President Volodymyr Zelensky reported that Russia fired dozens of missiles at five towns and cities, including the capital, Kyiv. Ukrainian officials confirmed 33 deaths and 137 injuries from the 38 missiles launched, with three more fatalities in Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine. The air force stated that air defense systems downed 30 projectiles.
Zelensky called for an emergency United Nations Security Council meeting, urging allies to deliver “a stronger response to the blow that Russia has once again delivered on our population, on our land and on our children.”
The UN condemned the strikes as “unconscionable,” the EU criticized Moscow for “ruthlessly” targeting civilians, and the French foreign ministry labeled the attack on the children’s hospital as “barbaric.” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the attack “abhorrent.”
Kyiv announced a day of mourning after the children’s hospital was hit by a Russian cruise missile reportedly containing NATO member-produced components. Russia claimed the damage in Kyiv was due to Ukrainian air defense systems, asserting that its forces struck intended targets, which were defense industry and military installations.
Hospital staff acted quickly to move patients to the facility’s basement after air raid sirens sounded. Nina, a 68-year-old hospital employee, expressed disbelief that the hospital was targeted, describing the frantic efforts to move children to safety.
In Kyiv, several residential buildings and an office block were also damaged. AFP reporters observed cars on fire and shredded trees in charred courtyards. DTEK, Ukraine’s largest private energy company, reported that three of its electrical substations were destroyed or damaged, exacerbating the reduction of Ukrainian generation capacity due to previous strikes on energy infrastructure.
Russian forces have frequently targeted Kyiv with massive barrages since the invasion began in February 2022, with the last major attack occurring last month. Emergency services reported 22 fatalities in Kyiv on Monday, including at both medical facilities hit, and 72 injuries.
In Zelensky’s hometown of Kryvyi Rih, strikes killed at least 10 and injured over 41 people. In Dnipro, a city of about one million, one person was killed, and six were wounded when a residential building and a petrol station were hit. In the eastern Donetsk region, three people were killed in Pokrovsk, a town with a pre-war population of around 60,000.
Andriy Yermak, head of Ukraine’s presidential administration, called for a forceful response to the terror, highlighting the global need to witness the consequences of such attacks.
Zelensky and other Kyiv officials continue to urge allies to send more air defense systems, including Patriots, to help defend against Russian aerial bombardments. Zelensky emphasized that Russia must be held fully accountable for its actions, asserting that Russia cannot claim ignorance of where its missiles are flying.
