Many dead in Ukraine

Russian missile hits children’s hospital in Kiev

Rescue workers do their best after Russian missiles hit a children's hospital in Kiev.

(Bild: AP)

Heavy rocket attacks are currently shaking Ukraine. A children's hospital was hit in the capital Kiev. There are many dead and injured.

In broad daylight - and not at night as is usually the case - rockets hit Ukraine on Monday. Windows were shattered in a children's hospital in Kiev and the façade cladding was torn off. Parents held their babies in their arms and walked out of the shelter onto the street, dazed and sobbing. "We heard an explosion, then we were showered with debris," described 33-year-old Svitlaka Kravchenko. Her two-month-old baby was unharmed, but the woman suffered cuts.

According to the Ukrainian air force, the Russian military fired cruise missiles and several Kinschal (Dagger) hypersonic missiles at targets in the city of three million people. Mayor Vitali Klitschko and the head of the president's office, Andrij Jermak, confirmed that a children's hospital was also hit.

The children's hospital that was hit

(Bild: Associated Press)

One of the heaviest attacks since the start of the war
The attack on Kiev was one of the most serious in the two years of the war, Klitschko told the Reuters news agency, expressing his dismay. According to the authorities, nine people were killed in the capital alone. According to preliminary information, around 25 people were also injured.

Rescue workers do their best after Russian missiles hit a children's hospital in Kiev.

(Bild: EVGENIY MALOLETKA)

Huge destruction at children's hospital in Kiev

(Bild: Associated Press)

Huge destruction at the children's hospital in Kiev

(Bild: Associated Press)

The Austrian Foreign Ministry described the fact that a children's hospital of all places was attacked as "more than disgusting!" The Okhmatdyt hospital had benefited from Austrian aid. "We will continue our support and #StandWithUkraine," the ministry emphasized on X.

Children wait near the Okhmatdyt children's hospital in Kiev, which was hit by Russian missiles.

(Bild: Associated Press)

(Bild: Associated Press)

At least 20 people were killed
In addition to Kiev, shelling was reported from Dnipro, Kramatorsk and other places. According to Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko, at least 20 people were killed and around 50 injured across the country in the course of the attacks on Monday. Industrial plants, infrastructure, residential and commercial buildings were damaged. According to the local authorities, ten people were killed in Krywyj Rih. 41 people were injured. Several impacts were reported in the city, reported Mayor Olexandr Wilkul. Among other things, there was damage to the administrative building of an industrial company.

Smoke rises over Kiev.

(Bild: Associated Press)

There were also Russian missile attacks in the east of the country. At least three people were killed in the city of Pokrovsk. A rocket hit an unspecified building, the governor of the Donetsk region said on the short message service Telegram. Local media also reported explosions in Dnipro and Kropyvnytskyi in central Ukraine.

Kiev after the rocket attack on Monday

(Bild: AFP/Anatolii Stepanov)

People buried
"All forces are working to save as many people as possible," Selensky assured on Telegram. The head of state published a short video showing destroyed hospital rooms and traces of blood on the floor. Selensky spoke of people being trapped.

 "Everyone is helping to clear the rubble - doctors and other people," he wrote, "and the whole world should use all its determination to finally put an end to the Russian attacks." Selenskyj's chief of staff Jermak emphasized: "An attack on Ukraine at a time when most people are on the streets. Crazy Russian terrorists," Jermak wrote on Telegram during the attack.

Five civilians die in mine explosion - including baby
According to the local governor, five civilians were killed when a mine exploded in the eastern Ukrainian region of Kharkiv. Their car had driven over the mine on a dirt road in a forest, Oleh Synjegubov explained online on Monday. The victims were a man, two women, a five-year-old boy and a three-month-old baby.

Ukraine has been defending itself against the Russian invasion for more than two years with Western help. Kiev has repeatedly urged its allies to provide even more modern air defense systems.