A Russian strike destroyed a busy children’s hospital in central Kiev on Monday, part of a massive aerial bombardment that has killed at least 20 people in cities across Ukraine.
At least 50 people were injured in the barrage, according to Ihor Klymenko, the head of the Interior Ministry. Officials warned that the death toll was likely to rise.
In Kiev, local authorities reported that at least nine people had been killed and another 23 wounded. It was not clear how many people were killed in the Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital or in other places in the city, where fires were reported after debris from rockets shot from the sky crashed into residential areas.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said people were still trapped under the rubble of the children’s hospital and the exact number of casualties was not yet known.
Shortly after the strike, a woman carried a small child, covered in dust and blood, at the entrance to the children’s hospital, the largest in Ukraine.
A desperate search and rescue operation was underway there on Monday afternoon, with Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko saying more than 100 rescuers were on the scene. Outside the hospital, citizens formed a human chain to help clear the rubble, brick by brick.
Doctors and others at the hospital, which treats 20,000 children a year, shared photos of bloodstained corridors, collapsed ceilings and destroyed operating rooms.
Viktor Lyashko, Ukraine’s health minister, said intensive care units, operating rooms and the oncology department had all been damaged. The first task for hospital staff, he said, was to transport patients to other facilities.
Mr Zelensky condemned the attack on the hospital, which he said “saved and restored the health of thousands of children.”
“Russia cannot claim that it does not know where its missiles are flying and must be held fully accountable for all its crimes,” he said in a statement. “It is very important that the world does not remain silent about this now and that everyone sees what Russia is and what it does.”
He said Russia had fired at least 40 long-range missiles at targets across Ukraine and that there were reports of damage in Dnipro, Kryvyi Rih, Slovyansk and Kramatorsk.
The attack came a day before NATO leaders were due to meet in Washington for an annual summit, where they were expected to announce plans to boost Ukraine’s air defense capabilities.
