Russia targeted Ukraine early on, firing more than 40 missiles at multiple locations in the capital, Kiev, killing 20 people and wounding 50.
Severe damage was caused to buildings and vehicles in the capital’s Darnitsky, Desniansky, Svyatoshinsky, Holosiivsky, Dniprovsky, Solomiansky, Darnitsky and Shevchenkivsky districts.
They are worried about the rising death toll
A statement from the Emergency Services of Ukraine said that as a result of the morning shelling, damage was caused to settlements in the Desniansky, Svyatosinsky, Holosyivsky, Dniprovsky, Solomiansky, Darnitsky and Shevchenkivsky regions of the city.
“A house is on fire in Desniansky district. A garage was damaged and a car was set ablaze in Holosiyvsky district. Shrapnel from a rocket-propelled grenade landed in one of the hospitals in Shevchenkivsky region. Debris has fallen in vacant lots in other parts of the city,” it said in a statement.
It was reported that search and rescue operations by teams in these areas are continuing. It was also shared that there is concern that the death toll may increase.
Children’s hospital shot
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky announced that Russian forces had attacked the Okhmadit pediatric hospital, but said, “The Okhmadit pediatric hospital in Kyiv is one of the most important hospitals not only in Ukraine but in Europe. The hospital has saved and nursed thousands of children back to health. “It is now damaged by the Russian attack, people are buried under rubble, and the exact number of injured and dead is currently unknown,” he said.
Zelenskiy said doctors and local residents were working to clear the rubble and that “Russia must answer fully for all the crimes it has committed against children and humanity. It is very important that the world no longer remains silent on this matter and that everyone understands what Russia is and what it is doing.”
Zelenskiy also said he had called an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in response to Russian attacks on civilian infrastructure, including a children’s hospital in Kiev.
In a post on his social media account, Sergey Popko, head of the Kyiv city military administration, noted that Kiev’s air defense systems were functional and said that the Russian attack had resulted in missile shrapnel falling in different districts of the capital.
Popko said some buildings and vehicles were damaged in the Solomen, Golosiiv, Darnitsa and Svyatoshin districts where missile fragments fell, and a children’s hospital was damaged in the Shevchenko district.
bombard civilian targets
Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported that shrapnel dropped by an air defense system fell in two central areas of the capital.
“The shelling targeted civilians and hit infrastructure,” Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian presidential administration, said in a statement. “Today, the whole world must recognize the consequences of terrorism and the need to respond exclusively with force.”
The timing of the largest shelling in recent months drew attention
The attack, the biggest shelling Kiev has seen in months, came on the eve of a key NATO summit. Witnesses said they heard a series of explosions in the city centre and images posted on social media showed plumes of black smoke rising above buildings.
