Russia launched a missile barrage across Ukraine, killing 31 people and heavily damaging a children’s hospital in Kyiv in what has been condemned as a ruthless attack on civilians.
Dozens of volunteers, doctors, and rescue workers were digging through the debris of Okhmatdyt children’s hospital in a desperate search for survivors after the rare daytime bombardment.
First responders had to run for cover when sirens and explosions sounded after the initial strikes. This repeat attack left four dead at a maternity hospital in another district of Kyiv, according to emergency services.
President Volodymyr Zelensky reported that Russian forces fired more than 40 missiles at five major civilian hubs, primarily in the south and east of the country, as well as the capital.
Zelensky was in Poland to sign a security deal with Prime Minister Donald Tusk in Warsaw when news of the strikes broke. The leaders held a minute of silence for the victims.
In Warsaw, Zelensky called on 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 wave of strikes, stating it was “unconscionable that children are killed and injured in this war,” while the EU’s Josep Borrell accused Russia of “ruthlessly” targeting civilians. France also condemned the attacks, with the foreign ministry describing the bombardment of the children’s hospital in Kyiv as “barbaric.”
Kyiv stated that the children’s hospital had been struck by a Russian cruise missile and claimed it contained components produced in NATO member countries.
However, Russia claimed that the extensive missile damage in Kyiv was caused by a Ukrainian air defense missile. Moscow asserted that its forces had struck their “intended targets,” which they claimed were only defense industry and military installations.
