Russia attacked a crowded children’s hospital in central Kiev on Monday as part of a massive aerial bombardment that killed at least 20 people in cities across Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said at least 40 long-range missiles hit targets across the country during deadly artillery attacks, leaving people trapped under the rubble of a children’s hospital. There were also reports of damage in central and eastern Ukraine, raising questions about the state of Ukraine’s air defenses, a day before NATO leaders were to meet in Washington to discuss how to strengthen air defense systems.
Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said at least 50 people were injured in the gunfire. Officials warned the death toll could rise.
The local government in Kiev said that at least 17 people were killed and 41 others were injured. It was unclear how many casualties there were at the Ohmatdyt Children’s Hospital or other locations in the city where fires reportedly broke out after shrapnel fell from the sky into residential areas.
Children’s Hospital is the largest hospital in Ukraine. Shortly after the strike, a woman held a small child covered in dust and blood near the entrance.
A desperate search and rescue operation was underway Monday afternoon. Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko said there were more than 100 rescue workers on site. Outside the hospital, civilians formed a human chain and helped clear the rubble, brick by brick.
Doctors and others at the hospital, which treats 20,000 children a year, shared images of blood-stained corridors, collapsed ceilings and destroyed operating rooms.
Dr. Tymofii Dvorovyi, a surgeon at the hospital, said he had managed to get the patient into a bomb shelter before the attack.
“I don’t know what’s going on in other departments,” he said. “Surgeons were operating when the missile hit.”
He said he saw dozens of “seriously injured” people staggering through the halls after the explosion.
A two-story medical building about 150 meters away from the main hospital suffered the most serious damage, with the building completely collapsing. The explosion also blew out windows at the main hospital and shrapnel tore through the building.
“Now, we are evacuating patients to another hospital,” Dr. Dvorovy said.
Ukrainian Health Minister Viktor Lyashko said intensive care units, operating rooms and oncology units were damaged.
Zelensky condemned the attacks on hospitals, which he said had “saved and rehabilitated thousands of children.”
“Russia cannot claim to know anything about where its missiles are flying and must accept full responsibility for all its crimes,” he said in a statement. “It is very important that the world cannot remain silent about this now, and everyone should See what Russia is and what it is doing.”
