KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — A major missile attack by Russia on five Ukrainian cities with more than 40 missiles of different classes killed at least 28 people and injured over 100 on Monday, according to authorities. The attack hit and shook apartment buildings and public infrastructure, as reported on social media by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
A missile struck a large children's hospital in the capital, Kiev, where emergency services were searching for victims among the rubble.
Why did Russia carry out this attack on Ukraine?
The attack took place on the eve of a three-day NATO summit in Washington, where the alliance would seek to ensure Ukraine's support from the group and offer hope that the country can overcome the biggest European conflict since World War II.
"It is very important that now the world does not remain silent about it and that everyone sees what Russia is and what it is doing," said Zelenskyy on social media.
What were the main damages caused by the attack?
At the Okhmatdyt children's hospital, the largest in the country, rescuers were searching for people under the rubble of a partially collapsed wing of the center, said Zelenskyy, and the number of casualties was still unknown.
At the hospital, a two-story building was partially destroyed. In the main 10-story block of the hospital, windows and doors were blown out, and walls were stained black. Bloodstains were visible on the floor in one room.
Medical personnel and neighbors were helping to move the rubble to search for children and medical staff who might be trapped underneath. Volunteers formed a line and passed rocks and debris from one to another.
The attack forced the hospital to close and evacuate. Some mothers carried their children on their backs. Others waited in the courtyard with their children while the doctors' phones rang without anyone answering.
In other areas of Kiev, the largest bombing on the capital in almost four months left seven dead and 25 injured, according to authorities. An entire section of a multi-story residential building was destroyed in a district of the city.
The attack at a time when there were many people on the streets included hypersonic Kinzhal missiles, one of the most advanced Russian weapons, indicated the air force, as it reaches 10 times the speed of sound, making it difficult to intercept.
At least 10 people died and 37 were injured in the town of Krivoy Rog, where President Zelenskyy was born, in central Ukraine. The local government official, Oleksandr Vilkul, described a massive missile attack.