Russia has attacked Kyiv and four other Ukrainian cities in broad daylight. In total, 33 people were killed and 137 injured in the attacks, according to the Ministry of the Interior in the country. 38 rockets were used. Kyiv’s mayor, Vitaly Klitschko, says that the attack on Monday was one of the worst against the city since the war began. According to the authorities in Kyiv, at least 20 people have been killed and around 61 injured in the massive attack. Children’s hospital hit According to the Ukrainian Minister of Health, the intensive care unit and the department for cancer treatment at the children’s hospital were hit in the attacks. So far, two have been confirmed dead and several injured. According to President Volodymyr Zelenskyj, who refers to the hospital as one of the most important in Europe, people were also trapped under the ruins. – The hospital has saved thousands of children. Russia cannot avoid knowing where its missiles land, and must answer for all its violations: against people, against children, against humanity, says the Ukrainian president. Patients at the children’s hospital who were evacuated in connection with the attack. Photo: Gleb Garanich / Reuters The mayor of Kyiv says the children’s hospital was evacuated after the rocket attack. Ihor Klymenko, Minister of the Interior of Ukraine, says volunteers, health personnel and the state emergency services have been helped by the National Guard to get through the ruins and rescue people who may be trapped under the building remains. Shortly after the children’s hospital was hit by rockets, another medical facility in Kyiv was also hit, killing four more and wounding three, according to the AFP news agency. More attacks Besides Kyiv, the cities of Kryvyi Rih, Kropyvnytskyi, Dnipro and Prokovsk were also attacked on Monday. Rescuers work at a building damaged during the attack in Kyiv. Photo: Gleb Garanich / Reuters In the industrial city of Kryvyi Rih, in central Ukraine, at least ten people were killed and 31 injured, according to local authorities Several buildings were hit, including an office building and an industrial building. Zelenskyj, who is in Poland to meet Prime Minister Donald Tusk, says the world must come together to end the Russian attacks. He also suggests that the UN Security Council must meet to discuss the attacks. – The whole world must use its willpower to finally put an end to the Russian attacks. Only together can we achieve real peace and security, says Zelenskyj. Later in the day, it became clear that the Security Council will hold an extraordinary meeting on Tuesday. It is happening after input from Great Britain, France, Ecuador, Slovenia and the United States. Highly unusual The rockets were fired at the Ukrainian capital in the middle of the morning, which is highly unusual. – Attacks against Ukraine at the time of day when there are the most people in the streets. Crazy Russian terrorists, writes Andriy Jermak, who is the chief of staff to President Zelenskyj, on Telegram. The explosions in Kyiv are described as massive. Photo: Gleb Garanich / Reuters The Ukrainian Air Force reports that they shot down 30 of the 38 Russian missiles used in the attack. Among these were supersonic missiles of the Kinzal model, which is one of Russia’s most advanced weapons. The rockets fly five times faster than sound, which makes it very difficult to stop them with anti-aircraft missiles. The buildings in Kyiv shook as the rockets hit. – We heard an explosion, and then we were hit by a rain of fragments, says Svitlaka Kravchenko (33) in Kyiv to Reuters. – It was terrifying. I couldn’t breathe. I tried to cover my baby with a piece of cloth so he could breathe. – A terrible attack Several European countries, the EU and the UN condemn the attack, and the UN’s Ukraine coordinator calls it “unconscionable”. While Britain’s foreign minister, David Lammy, calls the attack on the children’s hospital “a terrible attack on Ukrainian civilians”. Russia has repeatedly denied that it attacks civilian targets, but confirmed on Monday that it had carried out attacks on “defense industrial targets and aviation bases in Ukraine”. – The objectives of the attacks have been achieved. Assigned targets have been hit, the Russian Defense Ministry said, according to Reuters. According to DTEK, the largest private electricity company in Ukraine, three power stations were also damaged in the massive attack. The power stations are in the districts of Golosivskilj and Shevchenkivskyj in Kyiv. The power grid was also damaged, writes DTEK on social media. Ukrainian firefighters work to extinguish burnt-out cars after the attack. Photo: ANATOLII STEPANOV / AFP Orban in Beijing The attack comes on the same day that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is in the Chinese capital Beijing to discuss the war in Ukraine with President Xi Jinping. Before the weekend, Orban met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj in Kyiv, before going to Moscow to speak with President Vladimir Putin. After today’s meeting, President Xi Jinping said that the international community should cool down the situation in Ukraine as much as possible and facilitate direct dialogue between the parties. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting in Beijing on Monday 8 July. Photo: Li Xueren / AP Published 08.07.2024, at 10.57 Updated 08.07.2024, at 18.53
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