In one of Russia's heaviest bombardment on Kyiv in four months, dozens of missiles hit apartment buildings and a children's hospital in the capital, killing at least 37 people, officials said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the daytime barrage targeted five Ukrainian cities with over 40 missiles of different types. Though Ukraine's air force intercepted 30 missiles, more than 150 people were injured in the bombardment.
Meanwhile, Zelenskyy on Monday said that he expected the upcoming NATO summit to provide specific steps to strengthen his country's air defenses against Russia.
Russia-Ukraine Conflict | Latest Updates
Death Toll At 37 In Russia's Missile Attack On Ukraine
A barrage of missiles from Russia, in its heaviest bombardment in almost four months, struck Ukraine's capital city of Kyiv, hitting many apartment buildings and a children's hospital. Officials said that at least 37 persons lost their lives in the attack.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that 30 of the 40 missiles were intercepted by the Russian missiles and over 150 people were wounded.
Seven people in the capital were killed, including two staff members at the hospital, where three children were hurt. Meanwhile strikes in central Ukraine, Zelenskyy's birthplace -- Kryvyi Rih -- killed 10.
"It is very important that the world should not be silent about it now and that everyone should see what Russia is and what it is doing,” Zelenskyy said on social media.
However, Russia denied attacking the hospital, saying that the strikes hit military targets.
Rescuers at the Okhmatdyt children's hospital in Kyiv were searching for victims under the rubble of a partially-collapsed two-storey wing of the facility.
Officials said that the hospital's main 10-storey building had its doors and windows blown out, with it walls blackened. The intensive care unit, operating theatres and oncology departments were all damaged, they added.
Health Minister Viktor Liashko noted that at the time of the strike, three heart operations were underway and debris from the explosion contaminated the patients' open chests.
Ukraine's Hopes With NATO Summit
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday said that he expected the upcoming NATO Summit to provide specific steps towards the strengthening of his nation's air defenses against Russia.
Zelenskyy's statement came hours after the Russian missile attack, which killed at least 31 people.
Meeting with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in Warsaw, Zelenskyy discussed further support to his country from NATO, as well as signing a bilateral cooperation and defense document.
USA Today reported that NATO allies are in final negotiations over language that Ukraine's eventual admission into the alliance is "irreversible".
At last year's summit in Lithuania, the US and other member nations discussed that Ukraine would become a part of NATO when "Allies agree and conditions are met".
Though the final draft could change, sources said that the presence of the "irreversible" language would be a significant signal to Kyiv and Moscow as the war in Ukraine continued to rage on, CNN reported.
The White House reportedly supports the use of the word in the final communique as long as it reaffirms that Ukraine's work on democratic reforms continues.
A senior US administration official on Friday had said that the alliance will make "significant announcements about how we're increasing NATO's military, political and financial support for Ukraine" as part of Kyiv's "bridge to NATO", the report added.
China Calls On World Powers To Resume Direct Russia-Ukraine Dialogue
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday called on world powers to help Russia and Ukraine resume direct dialogue, state broadcaster CCTV reported.
Xi's call came during a meeting with Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban. The latter made a surprise visit to China after similar trips to Russia and Ukraine last week.
Since Hungary assumed the rotating European Union presidency this month, Orban has embarked on a peace mission, which however, lacks the endorsement of other European leaders.
“China is a key power in creating the conditions for peace in the Russia-Ukraine war,” Orban said on X, adding that, "This is why I came to meet with President Xi in Beijing, just two months after his official visit to Budapest.”
(With AP inputs)
