Deadly missile strike hits medical clinic in Ukraine
KYIV, Ukraine — A Russian missile strike hit a hospital complex in central Ukraine Friday morning, killing at least one person and injuring nearly two dozen others, including two children, Ukrainian officials said.
As rescuers raced to pull survivors from the rubble and firefighters battled to contain the fire caused by the attack, President Volodymyr Zelensky called the attack on the medical facility in the city of Dnipro an “inhumane” act of barbarism.
Serhii Lysak, the head of the region’s military administration, said a 69-year-old man was killed and at least 21 people were treated for injuries.
The strike took place on the campus of a medical facility that includes a mental health hospital and a veterinary clinic, Ukrainian officials said. A three-story building of the complex was leveled and other buildings suffered extensive damage, they said.
Ukraine’s Human Rights Commissioner Dmytro Lubinets posted graphic videos of bloodied victims being pulled from the rubble. The attack on a medical facility, he said, was further evidence that “Russia is at war with the civilian population”.
He said the injured included two boys aged 3 and 6 and four people remained missing for several hours after the strike.
The central Ukrainian city of Dnipro is a hub for Ukrainian soldiers wounded in battle, usually a first stop before being transported to other hospitals in the country. It was not clear whether Ukrainian soldiers were being treated at the facility hit Friday or injured in the attack.
Mr. Zelensky called the strike a “crime.”
“There can be no military purpose in this,” he said in a statement. He shared a video showing black smoke coming from a building, the roof of which was completely cut off.
His wife, Olena Zelenska, also denounced the attack, sharing video of a destroyed building engulfed in flames.
Ukrainian medical facilities and civilian objects are attacked again. A terrible level of cynicism to hit a psychological pharmacy in the Dnipropetrovsk region with missiles. There are deaths and injuries. My condolences to all the victims of this terror attack. pic.twitter.com/xTVgTMcu8b
— Олена Зеленська (@ZelenskaUA) May 26, 2023
The missile attack came just hours after another night of Russian aerial bombardments, which the Ukrainian military said involved 17 missiles and 31 attack drones targeting targets across the country. The Ukrainian Air Force said on Friday morning it destroyed 10 cruise missiles and 23 attack drones.
At least five of the cruise missiles and six of the attack drones were shot down over the Dnipro region.
“It was a very difficult night,” said Mr. Lysak. At least two homes, two private businesses and a gas station were all damaged as a result of the attack, he said. A gas station worker was injured, Mr Lysak said, but no other casualties were reported in the overnight strikes.