News Desk
In a wave of missile strikes launched by Russia in Ukrainian cities, a children’s hospital in Kyiv was struck, killing two people. The Ohmatdyt Children’s hospital, which is Ukraine’s biggest paediatrics facility, had major damages in the blast.
A total of 36 people perished and 140 were injured in the overall strikes, said Andriy Yermak, President Zelensky’s chief of staff. The parties involved blamed each other, Russia saying the hospital was struck by remnants of a Ukrainian air defense missile, while Ukraine said fragments of a Russian cruise missile were found at the site.
One of the doctors at the hospital, Lesia Lysytsia, described the missile strike to the BBC like “being in a film” and there being a big light and then an awful sound. She said that one part of the hospital was destroyed and a fire was ignited in another, that almost 60-70% of the hospital were badly damaged.
Pictures depicting the ruined hospital showed young children, some even attached to IV drips, evacuated outside the hospital after the attacks. The mayor of Kyiv, Vitaliy Klitschko, said that there were two fatalities in the hospital, both of them adults, one of which was a doctor. In addition, he said that rescuers are still wary that people might still be trapped under the rubble.