On Monday, Russia unleashed a barrage of missiles targeting multiple cities in Ukraine, resulting in at least 20 fatalities and causing extensive damage to a children's hospital in Kyiv, according to officials. This daylight assault occurred as President Volodymyr Zelensky was scheduled to visit Warsaw, as announced by the Polish government, prior to his departure for the NATO summit in Washington. AFP journalists reported hearing explosions and witnessing black smoke rising from the center of Kyiv. Images from the children's medical facility in Kyiv depicted individuals sifting through piles of rubble, with black smoke enveloping a severely damaged building, and medical staff in blood-stained scrubs.
President Zelensky condemned the attack, stating, "Russian terrorists have once again launched a massive missile attack on Ukraine, targeting various cities including Kyiv, Dnipro, Kryvyi Rig, Sloviansk, and Kramatorsk." He detailed the extensive damage caused by over 40 missiles, which hit residential buildings, infrastructure, and a children's hospital. The number of casualties under the rubble of the Okhmatdyt Children's Hospital remains unknown. Earlier reports indicated at least seven deaths in Kyiv due to the missile barrage.
Russian forces have consistently targeted Kyiv since their invasion in February 2022, with the most recent significant attack occurring last month. In Zelensky's hometown of Kryvyi Rig, the strikes claimed at least 10 lives and injured over 30, according to the mayor. In Dnipro, a high-rise building and a business were damaged, along with a service station, resulting in injuries, as reported by the Dnipropetrovsk governor Sergiy Lysak. In the eastern Donetsk region, three people were killed in Pokrovsk, a town with a pre-war population of approximately 60,000.
The Kremlin has yet to comment on these strikes, maintaining that its forces do not target civilian infrastructure. Andriy Yermak, head of the presidential administration in Kyiv, emphasized on social media that "this shelling targeted civilians, hit infrastructure, and the whole world should see today the consequences of terror, which can only be responded to by force." Zelensky and other officials have been urging Ukraine's allies to provide additional air defense systems, including Patriots, to counter Russia's deadly aerial bombardments. Zelensky reiterated in another post, "Russia cannot claim ignorance of where its missiles are flying and must be held fully accountable for all its crimes."
