Reports indicate that at least 31 people were killed, while another 154 were injured after five Ukrainian cities — Kyiv, Dnipro, Kryvyi Rih, Slovyansk, Kramatorsk — were targeted by a barrage of more than 40 missiles of various types, which hit apartment buildings and public infrastructure. “We must hold Russia accountable for its acts of terror and Putin for ordering the strikes. Every time there are attempts to discuss peace with him, Russia responds with attacks on homes and hospitals,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a statement posted to X.Ukraine’s largest children’s hospital was struck after a missile exchange with Russia on July 8.
We must hold Russia accountable for its acts of terror and Putin for ordering the strikes. Every time there are attempts to discuss peace with him, Russia responds with attacks on homes and hospitals.
This is why we can only force Russia into peace, and we can only achieve this… pic.twitter.com/zXbLHLPMc1
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) July 8, 2024
In a separate post, Zelenskyy highlighted the significance of the "Okhmatdyt" Children's Hospital in Kyiv, describing it as one of the most important medical facilities not only in Ukraine but also in Europe. He noted that the hospital had saved and restored the health of thousands of children.
Following the strike, the hospital, which treats 20,000 children annually, suffered collapsed ceilings, destroyed operating rooms, and bloodstained hallways.
“Now the hospital has been damaged by a Russian strike, people are under the rubble, the exact number of wounded and dead is currently unknown. Now everyone helps to sort out the debris: doctors, ordinary people,” Zelenskyy added.
“Russia cannot help but know where its missiles are flying, and must fully answer for all its crimes: against people, against children, against humanity in general,” he exclaimed. “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.”
Moscow responded with a firm denial of responsibility for the attacks, attributing the damage to civilian infrastructure to a malfunctioning Ukrainian missile.
"The allegations made by Kiev officials about a deliberate Russian missile strike on civilian targets are absolutely untrue,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement. “Numerous photo and video reports from Kiev, which have been made public, make it clear that damage was done by a falling Ukrainian air defense missile launched from a missile system deployed within the city limits.”
Russian officials say they carried out a high-precision strike on Ukrainian defense industry sites and air bases in retaliation for Kyiv’s attempts to attack Russian energy facilities. Moscow stated that all designated targets were hit.
“The Kiev regime has been throwing such tantrums for years, each time ahead of a get-together (summit) of its NATO sponsors,” the Defense Ministry said. "The goal of such provocations is to ensure the further inflow of funds for the Kiev regime and a continuation of the war until the last Ukrainian.”
