A children’s hospital in Kyiv has been hit by missiles as Russia unleashed a deadly barrage across Ukraine.
The attack is the biggest bombardment of the Ukrainian capital for several months, officials said.
It was part of a wider strike across Ukraine that has left at least 31 dead and around 130 others injured, according to the interior ministry.
Follow latest: Russia launches daylight hypersonic attack on Ukraine
Rescuers work at Okhmatdyt children’s hospital. Pic: Reuters
Kyiv, Dnipro, Pokrovsk and Kryvyi Rih are among the cities targeted in the Russian attack
Kyiv targeted
In Kyiv, at least nine people have been killed, and 33 others injured in the initial attack which struck the Okhmatdyt children’s hospital – Ukraine’s biggest children’s medical facility.
Images appear to show young cancer patients who have been evacuated from the hospital with their parents.
The hospital suffered severe damage from the attack and some parents were in tears as they left the hospital, holding their children.
“We heard an explosion, then we were showered with debris,” said Svitlaka Kravchenko.
Her two-month-old baby was unharmed, but she had suffered cuts, and her car was buried under the rubble of the destroyed building.
“It was scary. I couldn’t breathe, I was trying to cover [my baby]. I was trying to cover him with this cloth so that he could breathe,” she said.
Mothers hold their children outside the Okhmatdyt hospital. Pic: Reuters
The mayor of the Ukrainian capital, Vitali Klitschko, confirmed the hospital had been hit but did not say whether there were any casualties.
He added patients were being evacuated to a nearby hospital, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said there were people “under the rubble”.
Rescuers are working at the scene, searching for survivors under a partially collapsed wing of the facility.
Debris from a later, separate, Russian rocket attack, also on Kyiv, killed a further four people and injured others as it damaged another medical centre, the city’s authorities said.
The Kyiv military administration said a multi-storey centre was struck in the city’s eastern Dnipro district.
The Okhmatdyt children’s hospital after the attack. Pic: Reuters
A woman carries her child near the Okhmatdyt children’s hospital. Pic: Reuters
Hypersonic attack
The daylight attacks included Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, one of the most advanced Russian weapons, the Ukrainian air force said.
The Kinzhal flies at 10 times the speed of sound, making it hard to intercept.
Of the 38 Russian missiles launched, the Ukrainian air force said it had downed 30 of them and Zelenskyy vowed to retaliate.
City buildings shook from the blasts and Mr Zelenskyy said Russia had targeted five cities in total, with more than 40 missiles of different types.
Rescuers work at the hospital damaged during Russian missile strikes across Ukraine. Pic: Reuters
Rescuers work at Okhmatdyt children’s hospital. Pic: Reuters
In a post on social media, Mr Zelenskyy’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak accused Russia of “deliberately targeting” children.
Three of Kyiv’s electricity substations and electricity grids were also damaged, Ukraine’s largest private energy producer DTEK has said.
This is in line with the Kremlin’s wider tactic of targeting Ukraine’s infrastructure to bring the country to its knees.
At least 10 people have been killed and 37 injured in the city of Kryvyi Rih, in the Dnipro region.
Serhii Lysak, governor of the region, said one person had died and six others were also injured in Dnipro city after it was struck in Russia’s major attack.
One of the injured people was in a “serious condition” he added.
Meanwhile, Vadym Filashkin governor of the eastern Donetsk region, said at least three people had been killed in the city of Pokrovsk.
Russia sends a message on eve of NATO summit
Russia’s strike comes on the eve of a major NATO summit in Washington, says Sky News’ security and defence editor Deborah Haynes.
She says it’s been suggested that the timing of the attack by Vladimir Putin’s forces is “no coincidence”.
The summit is due to take place in the US and will involve the leaders of all 32 NATO states – including new UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
It is expected to have a heavy focus on Ukraine.
“The war in Ukraine will be foremost in their talks with the allies,” Haynes said.
“They’ll be pledging, of course, more support for Ukrainian forces. Ukraine will be wanting more signs about whether it will be able to join NATO,” Haynes added.
She continued: “But clearly for Russia, the war in Ukraine is still carrying on. They have not changed their target, their intent to try to capture Ukraine.”
Haynes said Moscow has “sent a message” ahead of the summit that its forces can still “strike and cause horrendous damage”.
“You’re talking about a children’s hospital that’s been hit as part of this barrage. We’ve yet to understand whether children themselves have been injured, but horrendously terrifying.”
‘Don’t trust or believe Putin’, says Poroshenko
The former president of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, said the latest attack on Kyiv was “disastrous” and it showed how Mr Putin could not be trusted.
He told Sky News: “This is a disastrous day. The rescue work is not finishing.
“I saw with my own eyes the missiles in the Kyiv sky. The price you pay every day is disasters.
“This is just a demonstration of how ready Putin is for the ceasefire for the peace.
“This is my appeal – don’t trust Putin. Don’t believe Putin.
“This is a message for NATO right in front of the NATO summit.
“Any attempt to delay the launching of negotiation with Ukraine is very dangerous for the global security.
“My point is we can learn the lessons from that.”
Ahead of the NATO summit, Mr Poroshenko added: “If you want to stop the war, it would be true membership (of NATO).
“One single word we are waiting (for) – this word is ‘invitation’.
“This is definitely in the interests of all member states in NATO.”
Russia claims infrastructure targeted
In the aftermath of the attacks, the Russian Defence Ministry claimed its forces had carried out strikes on defence industry targets and aviation bases.
They denied they had targeted civilians, and alleged Ukrainian anti-aircraft missiles, launched to repel the attack, had caused the damage instead.
They also noted the timing of the incident ahead of the NATO summit.
Sky News’ defence and security analyst Professor Michael Clarke said there did not appear to be any “meaningful military targets” near the areas that have been struck by Moscow’s forces.
“We have to assume that they’ve more or less been programmed to hit civilian targets,” he said.
He added: “One or two of them might have been intercepted, and if they’re intercepted, they’re going to fall somewhere.
“But in general, this is obviously a civilian-based attack – an attack based on targeting civilian areas.”
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Ukrainian shelling attack on Belgorod
Also on Monday morning, one civilian was said to have been killed in Russia’s Belgorod region due to Ukrainian shelling, according to the local governor.
Three others were also injured and taken to hospital governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Monday, and he added the number of wounded could increase.
Emily Foster is a globe-trotting journalist based in the UK. Her articles offer readers a global perspective on international events, exploring complex geopolitical issues and providing a nuanced view of the world’s most pressing challenges.
