Kyiv Children’s Hospital Destroyed by Russian Missile Attack, Multiple Casualties Reported

Russia launched dozens of missiles at cities across Ukraine on Monday, July 8, in an attack that killed at least 20 people and smashed into a children's hospital in Kyiv.

Updated. As reported by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, 31 people died in Ukraine as a result of the enemy attack, and another 154 were injured with information still being updated. Twenty people died in Kyiv, and another 61 were injured.

At the Okhmatdyt Children's Hospital, 2 people died, and 10 others were injured. Four people were rescued, including three children.

Meanwhile, according to Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, overall the number of casualties in various districts of the capital has risen to 96 people, with 52 of them hospitalized in the city's medical facilities. Others received assistance on the scene.

Kyiv Post correspondents heard a series of loud explosions, accompanied by the loud whistling of missiles. Some saw columns of smoke rising from the impacts.

A large-scale air alert was sounded at 9:50 a.m. local time. The Ukrainian Air Forces reported a threat of enemy ballistic weapons. Shortly after, the first explosions were heard near the cities of Kropyvnytsky and Kryvyi Rih in central Ukraine. Some missiles then changed direction toward the Kyiv region.

At 10:14 a.m., the Kyiv Regional Military Administration (OVA) announced the operation of air defense in the region. Later, Klitschko confirmed the activation of air defense in Kyiv and its suburbs.

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The head of the Kupiansk military administration said the Russian assaults one day earlier as "very difficult" but said the Russian troops retreated and the situation was again under control.

According to the Kyiv City Military Administration (KMVA), the rocket attack caused debris in the Solomyansky, Dniprovsky, Darnytsky, Svyatoshynsky, Desnyansky, Shevchenkivsky, and Holosiivsky districts.

• In Solomyansky district, an office building was damaged.
• In Holosiivsky district, garages were damaged and cars were set on fire.
• In Dniprovsky district, debris caused a fire in a residential building.
• In Darnytsky district, a private house was damaged.
• In Svyatoshynsky district, debris ignited near a residential building, and a fire broke out at one of the enterprises.
• In Desnyansky district, a building caught fire.

Additionally, in Shevchenkivsky district, the Okhmadyt Children's Hospital was damaged, with reports of significant destruction. Local telegram channels indicated that rubble was being cleared at the site, with unconfirmed reports of children trapped underneath.

Kyiv Post's special correspondent Sergii Kostezh filmed videos that show the aftermath of the attack on Okhmatdyt hospital.

Earlier reports indicated damage to the toxicological department of the hospital, with injuries reported by a medical institution's doctor.

The Minister of Health of Ukraine, Viktor Lyashko, has arrived at the scene of the attack, as reported by local Telegram channels. According to Lyashko, the strike on Okhmadyt hit the building where children were receiving dialysis. The rocket attack also damaged the intensive care, operating, and oncology departments.

Lyashko added that the priority is transporting patients to facilities with artificial ventilation and oxygen.

The Minister of Internal Affairs Klymenko told the RBC-Ukraine media outlet that two people were killed as a result of a rocket attack on the Okhmatdyt Children's Hospital. 

"We are carrying out rescue operations to free people from the rubble as quickly as possible. These include children and possibly medical personnel," Klymenko said. 

He added that it is currently not possible to contact two doctors and that there is no information about deceased minors, although children may be trapped under the debris.

Klitschko reported on Telegram that there are currently 16 injured people at Okhmatdyt Hospital, seven of them children. According to him, 15 injured have been hospitalized.

Later Klitschko confirmed Klymenko's information, writing, "Two dead in the Okhmatdyt hospital." According to him, the victims were adults, with one being a doctor.

Klitschko reported that one entrance to a residential building in Syrets (Shevchenkivsky district) was destroyed, and several others were severely damaged.

“Rescuers are now trying to get people out from under the rubble. Their voices can be heard. Other residents have been evacuated,” he wrote.

“The house opposite is also damaged,” the mayor added.

President Volodymyr Zelensky has already reacted to the attack.

“Russian terrorists again massively attacked Ukraine with missiles. Different cities: Kyiv, Dnipro, Kryvyi Rih, Slovyansk, Kramatorsk,” he wrote.

According to the president, the Russians fired more than 40 missiles of various types across Ukraine, resulting in damage to residential buildings, infrastructure, and a children's hospital.

All services are engaged to save as many people as possible, Zelensky added.

“And the whole world must use all its determination to finally put an end to the Russian strikes. Killings are what Putin is carrying. Only together can we bring real peace and security,” he wrote.

Oleksandr Vilkul, head of the Kryvyi Rih Defense Council, reported that ten people were killed in the city due to the Russian morning missile attack.

According to him, several hits were recorded in the city, including on the administrative building of an industrial enterprise.

"We have finished extinguishing the fire and are now beginning to clear the rubble. So far, there are 10 fatalities - 6 women and 4 men. Forty-one others are injured, including 9 seriously," he wrote.

The mayor also declared Tuesday, July 9, as a Day of Mourning in Kryvyi Rih.

Earlier in the morning, Russian troops also fired missiles at Ukraine, launching four Kh-101 missiles and two Iskander-M ballistic missiles. Anti-aircraft defense managed to destroy 3 Kh-101 missiles in the Zhytomyr and Cherkasy regions.