By John Ogunsemore
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine has vowed to retaliate after Russia rained missiles on Ukrainian cities on Monday morning, killing at least 33 civilians.
The Ukrainian Air Force said the Russian army used cruise, ballistic, aerial ballistic and guided missiles launched from air, sea and land in a combined attack.
Zelensky, who is currently in Ukraine where he signed a security pact, confirmed the missile attacks in a post on social media.
“Different cities: Kyiv, Dnipro, Kryvyi Rih, Sloviansk, Kramatorsk. More than 40 missiles of various types. Residential buildings, infrastructure and a children’s hospital were damaged,” he said.
The capital city Kyiv suffered the most casualties at 19, including two who died at the Ohmatdyt Children’s Hospital – Ukraine’s biggest children’s hospital.
Windows were reportedly smashed and panels ripped off at the children’s hospital, with Zelensky stating, “Right now, everyone is helping to clear the rubble – doctors and ordinary people.”
A doctor at the facility, Lesia Lysytsia was quoted by the BBC as stating that the moment the missile struck was “like in a film” with a “big light, then an awful sound”.
“It was scary. I couldn’t breathe, I was trying to cover (my baby). I was trying to cover him with this cloth so that he could breathe,” Svitlana Kravchenko, 33, told Reuters.
Oleksandr Vilkul, the head of the military administration in Kryvyi Rih, Zelensky’s home city, said at least 10 people had been killed there, with three more killed in the eastern town of Pokrovsk and one in Dnipro,
Dnipro regional head, Sergiy Lysak confirmed that one person was killed in Dnipro city and six others injured.
Speaking during a NATO summit this week, Zelensky urged concrete steps from its Western partners to strengthen its air defences and protect its energy sector.
“I would like to hear from our partners a greater resilience and a stronger response to the blow that Russia has once again delivered on our population, on our land, on our children,” Zelenskyy said at a press conference with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
Ukraine’s allies have condemned the attacks.
US Ambassador to Ukraine, Bridget Brink said, “This callous aggression – a total disregard for human life, jeopardizing European & Transatlantic security – is why leaders will make significant security commitments to Ukraine this week.”
Italy’s Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani called on the world to condemn the attacks.
Taking to X, Tajani said, “I am struck by the images of the bombings in Kyiv, which also hit a children’s hospital. War crimes that must be condemned by the entire international community.”
He added, “The [Italian] government will continue to defend the sovereignty of Ukraine and its people.”
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