KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — At least seven people were killed in two consecutive Russian attacks on a medical center in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Sumy on Saturday morning, local officials said.
According to Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko, one person was killed in the first attack. Russia attacked again, he said, as patients and staff were evacuated.
Local officials in Sumy said Shahed drones were used in the attack. In addition to the seven deaths, twelve others were seriously injured.
Sumy is located about 20 miles (32 kilometers) from Russia’s Kursk region, where Ukrainian troops have been deployed since August 6 in an attempt to military focus of the Kremlin away from the front line in Ukraine.
Ukraine’s air force said it shot down 69 of 73 Russian drones launched on land overnight, as well as two of four missiles. Kyiv city authorities said about 15 drones had been shot down over the Ukrainian capital and its suburbs.
In Russia, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Saturday that air defenses had shot down four Ukrainian drones overnight over the Belgorod region and one over the Kursk region, both areas bordering Ukraine.
