Ukrainian officials say more than 30 killed in Russian missile strike

Moscow launched nearly 40 rockets into multiple areas of Ukraine during a daylight attack Monday morning that targeted civilian homes and businesses, according to Ukrainian defense officials. The attacks killed at least 33 people in and around the northern capital of Kyiv and in the eastern Dnipropetrovsk region. At least 140 more were injured, according to Ukrainian Emergency Services.

The Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital in Kyiv, one of the largest in Ukraine, was struck during the attacks according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. It’s unknown how many people were injured or killed, he wrote. Civilians and doctors are helping emergency services remove debris to save injured children buried below, said Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister Dmytro Kuleba. Over 600 rescue workers are responding to emergency scenes and nearly 20 people have been saved so far, according to the defense ministry.

Has Russia claimed the strike? Russia’s military launched group strikes on Ukrainian military facilities and hit all designated targets on Monday morning, according to Russia’s defense ministry. Russia’s strikes were retaliation for Ukraine’s attempts to damage Russian energy facilities, officials claimed. Officials denied intentionally striking civilian targets and said Ukraine’s statements about the attack were not true. Footage from Kyiv clearly showed a Ukrainian air defense missile falling on the city, the defense ministry alleged. The ministry went on to characterize Ukraine’s protests as hysterics and accused Ukraine of making similar allegations prior to NATO summits for the last several years in order to get more funding.

Russia cannot help but know where its missiles are flying, and must fully answer for all its crimes against humanity, Zelenskyy wrote on social media. Russia allegedly shot down several Ukrainian drones in the Belgorod Region, a few hundred miles south of Moscow, hours after the mass strike in Ukraine.

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