U.S. President Joe Biden condemned a wave of Russian missile attacks that killed at least 38 people in Ukraine, calling it a “horrible reminder of Russia’s atrocities” and vowed to strengthen Kiev’s air defense system.
At least 190 people were injured across the country, some of them at a children’s hospital in the capital Kiev on Monday.
Biden is preparing to host a NATO summit in Washington on Tuesday.
The US president said further enhancements to Ukraine’s air defense capabilities will be announced at the meeting.
Leaders from the 32 NATO member states, its partner countries and the European Union gathered to celebrate NATO’s 75th anniversary.
Biden said he would welcome Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other NATO leaders.
The summit will focus on defense and deterrence issues in the context of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“We will announce new measures to strengthen Ukraine’s air defense capabilities to help protect its cities and civilians from Russian attacks,” Biden said.
“I will meet with President Zelensky to make clear that our support for Ukraine is unshakable.”
The U.N. Security Council is also meeting on Tuesday at Ukraine’s request.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has joined Western officials in condemning Russia’s missile strikes in Ukraine.
Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko declared July 9 a day of mourning after the deadly attack in the capital.
Missile attack kills two Part of Ohmatdyt Children’s Hospital was razed to the ground The search for survivors under the rubble of Ukraine’s largest pediatric facility continued into the early hours of Tuesday.
President Zelenskyy has for months urged Western allies to step up deliveries of air defense systems amid rising Russian attacks. United Nations officials said May was the deadliest month for civilian casualties in nearly a year.
The Kiev government says it urgently needs new U.S.-made Patriot air defense systems. But Western officials are reluctant to hand over any more of the limited number of surface-to-air batteries distributed across the NATO alliance.
Meanwhile, Russian officials said a fire broke out at a substation in the Rostov region on the border with Ukraine following a nighttime drone strike.
Regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said four people were killed and 20 injured in Ukrainian attacks over the past day.
On Tuesday, Russia again denied attacking a Kiev hospital, with President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying “we will not carry out attacks on civilian targets”.
Russia said the hospital was hit by fragments from Ukrainian anti-aircraft missiles, while Ukraine said it had found the remains of a Russian cruise missile.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the attack “brutal” and described Russian President Vladimir Putin as a “bloody criminal.”
Zelensky said Russia launched more than 40 missiles on Monday, damaging nearly 100 buildings in Kiev, Dnipro, Krivoy Rog, Sloviansk and Kramatorsk.
Photos from the scene of the blast at a Kiev hospital that specializes in cancer treatment and organ transplants showed children receiving intravenous injections sitting outside the damaged facility waiting to be evacuated.
Britain’s new Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer condemned the attack, calling it “the most depraved act”.
Britain has been one of Ukraine’s main Western allies and Sir Keir has vowed that his new government will continue to support Kyiv. He is scheduled to meet with President Biden at the White House on Wednesday on the sidelines of a NATO summit.
Peskov told the BBC that the Kremlin would be watching the NATO summit “extremely closely”.
“This alliance has repeatedly publicly stated that its goal is to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia’s battlefield,” Peskov said.
