A wave of Russian strikes hit five Ukrainian cities on Monday, including the capital, Kyiv.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia launched dozens of missiles toward five towns and cities in southern and eastern Ukraine as well as Kyiv.
At least 37 people were killed, including three children, with more than 170 wounded, Zelensky said.
The Okhmatdyt children’s hospital, the largest of its kind in Ukraine, was hit in Kyiv, which suffered the largest Russian bombardment seen in nearly four months.
The strikes sparked condemnation from Ukraine’s allies, with US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller accusing Russia of “deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure” and EU top diplomat Josep Borrell denouncing Russia’s “[ruthless] targeting [of] Ukrainian civilians.”
The UN humanitarian coordinator for Ukraine, Denise Brown, stressed that hospitals have special protection under international humanitarian law.
The UN Security Council is set to convene a meeting on the strike that hit the children’s hospital on Tuesday at the request of the UK, France, Ecuador, Slovenia and the US.
Russia denied the allegations that it had targeted civilian infrastructure, insisting it hit military targets. Moscow’s Defense Ministry claimed that damage in Kyiv was caused by a “Ukrainian air defense missile.”
sdi/wmr (AP, AFP, Reuters, dpa)
