KYIV: Rescue workers cleared debris as Ukraine observed a day of mourning Tuesday, after Russian strikes shattered a children’s hospital in Kyiv and sparked international condemnation.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said 43 people were killed across Ukraine by a barrage of nearly 40 missiles that targeted several towns and cities early Monday.
Officials announced a day of mourning in the capital with flags at half-mast and entertainment events postponed, as cranes and first responders worked at the Okhmatdyt paediatric hospital.
Zelensky said rescue work was ongoing at several of the attack sites and that patients from Okhmatdyt had been transferred to other facilities.
“We will restore Okhmatdyt,” Zelensky said during his evening address.
The interior ministry said it had completed its search for survivors at the hospital, adding that two people had been killed there and 32 wounded. Eight children were hospitalised, it said.
“At the time of the attack, 627 children were in the hospital,” military authorities in Kyiv added.
The president has been urging allies to bolster Ukrainian air defence systems and vowed to renew those pleas after touching down in Washington for the NATO summit.
Russian daytime attack on Ukraine kills at least 20, hits children’s hospital in Kyiv
“We are doing and will always do everything to make the Russian terrorist lose,” Zelensky announced in a video statement, saying he would be asking allies for more fighter jets and additional security guarantees during the meeting.
In another speech to a think tank, Zelensky thanked Kyiv’s backers for a new air defense package unveiled Tuesday at a NATO summit and urged the United States and others to go further to help defeat Russia.
The attack was roundly condemned by governments across Europe and North America, with Pope Francis voicing “grave sorrow” over the strikes.
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