Denise Brown, the UN’s top aid coordinator in Ukraine, condemned the daytime attacks, saying several cities were targeted, including the capital Kiev, Kryvyi Rih and Pokrovsk.
The attacks took place “as people were just starting their day. Dozens of people were killed and injured,” said Ms Brown reported that severe damage had been caused to the children’s hospital in central Kiev.
‘Conscienceless’ strike
“It is unacceptable that children are killed and injured in this war. Under international humanitarian law, hospitals are given special protection. Civilians must be protected,” she insisted.
The latest bloody development follows a warning of the UN Human Rights Office observers who May highest number of civilian casualties from Russian attacks in almost a year.
According to the report of tThe UN Human Rights Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU)between March 1 and May 31, at least 436 civilians were killed and another 1,760 wounded. The victims included six media workers, 26 health care workers, five aid workers and 28 relief workers.
The UN report found that the majority (91 percent) of casualties occurred on territory controlled by Ukraine and nine percent on territory occupied by Russia.
During the same reporting period, Russian authorities reported that 91 civilians were killed and 455 injured in Russia by attacks by Ukrainian forces, mainly in the Belgorod, Briansk and Kursk regions.
UNOCHA/Viktoriia Andrievska
Damage caused by the morning rocket attack in the Ukrainian capital Kiev, which hit a children’s hospital.
More than 20 dead
At least 20 people were reportedly killed in Monday’s attacks, while President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said more than 40 rockets were fired.
In addition to the Ohmatdyt Children’s Hospital in Kyiv, other public infrastructure was damaged, as well as commercial and residential buildings in cities such as Dnipro, Kramatorsk, Kryviy Rih, Kyi and Pokrovsk.
#NoTarget
Amid video footage posted online showing volunteers trying to clear rubble and search for survivors at the hospital in Kiev, Munir Mammadzade, the top official at the UN Children’s Fund in Ukraine, said said that the agency delivered emergency water and hygiene products to the facility several hours after the incident.
“Russia’s large-scale invasion continues to disproportionately affect children,” he said in a post on X. “We have received horrific reports of a children’s hospital in Kiev being badly damaged in an attack this morning, with reports of casualties. Children are #NotATarget and must always be protected.”
