Ukraine updates: Kyiv children's hospital hit in strikes

The German Foreign Ministry has condemned the "more than 40 Russian rockets" and the "attacks on the Okhmatdyt children's hospital" in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

"This is what willingness for negotiations and the desire for peace look like in [President Vladimir] Putin's Russia," the statement said.

Separately, a spokesperson for the ministry called on Putin to "immediately end this war of aggression against so many innocent people," according to the German news agency DPA.

The spokesperson also condemned the "dramatic" situation that civilians, especially children, are facing now in Ukraine.

The UN humanitarian coordinator for Ukraine, Denise Brown, condemned missile strikes that hit a number of Ukrainian cities on Monday, killing dozens of people.

"The week in Ukraine has started with another wave of deadly strikes by the Russian Armed Forces," she said in a statement.

"A children’s hospital in the center of Kyiv has been heavily damaged, the extent of which is not yet known. It is unconscionable that children are killed and injured in this war," she added.

"Under international humanitarian law, hospitals have special protection. Civilians must be protected."

Russia denied Ukrainian allegations that its wave of missile strikes against Ukrainian cities had targeted civilians, in one case hitting a children's hospital.

Referring to the widespread damage caused in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, the Russian Defense Ministry said it could "confirm that the damage was caused by a Ukrainian air defense missile" by using photo and video evidence from the scene.

It also claimed that it had targeted and hit defense industry and military targets.

"The objectives of the strike have been achieved. The assigned objects are hit," the ministry said in a statement.

Following the massive wave of Russian strikes against Ukrainian cities on Monday, Kyiv's Defense Minister Rustem Umerov called on the country's Western backers to increase their provision of air support to Ukraine.

"Our defense capabilities are still insufficient... We need more air defense systems," he said in a Telegram post.

His call comes a day before NATO celebrates its 75th anniversary during a three-day summit in Washington. Ukrainian President Vlodymyr Zelenskyy has been invited and Ukraine's defense will likely be high on the agenda.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in the Polish capital Warsaw on Monday to meet with Prime Minister Donald Tusk and President Andrzej Duda, Zelenskyy's office said.

The Ukrainian president and Polish prime minister are expected to sign a bilateral security agreement.

Tusk posted a picture of him and Zelenskyy saying Ukraine could "always count on us in this fight."

Poland has been one of the biggest supporters of Ukraine against Russia since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022. Almost 1 million Ukrainians have fled to Poland.

Zelenskyy's visit to Warsaw comes as a stop-off on his way to Washington where he has been invited to participate in the 75th anniversary summit, set to start on Tuesday.

Three energy substations in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv were hit during Monday's barrage of missiles, the energy operator DTEK said.

"Three DTEK transformer substations were destroyed or damaged in the Golosiivskyi and Shevchenkivskyi districts. Power grids were also damaged," it said on social media.

Russia has repeatedly targeted Ukrainian infrastructure in its strikes.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Monday's strikes also hit a children's hospital in Kyiv.

The number of people killed in Monday's missile strikes across Ukraine has risen to at least 20, according to Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko.

Another 50 people were believed to have been injured.

At least seven people were killed in the capital Kyiv with another 10 killed in Kryvyi Rih.

The Donetsk regional governor said that three people were killed in the eastern town of Pokrovsk.

People were still trapped underneath rubble at a children's hospital in Kyiv that was hit by a Russian airstrike on Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

"There are people under the rubble, and the exact number of casualties is still unknown. Right now, everyone is helping to clear the rubble — doctors and ordinary people," Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko called the strikes "one of the worst attacks" since the war began.

"You can see: it's a children’s hospital," he told a Reuters reporter.

Missiles targeted cities across Ukraine on Monday morning. One of the biggest strikes was in the southern city of Kryvyi Rih where at least 10 people were killed and dozens more wounded.

"Ten people were killed, 31 wounded are already in the hospital — 10 of them seriously injured. All emergency, utility and medical units are working," Mayor Oleksandr Vilkul said on social media.

Following trips to both Kyiv and Moscow, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban was in Beijing on Monday to meet with Chinese Prime Minister Xi Jinping.

Orban, who recently took over the position of the rotating EU presidency, called his trip "peace mission 3.0."

He called China a "key power in creating the conditions for peace" in the ongoing conflict. Beijing has put forward its own peace plan but refused to take part in last month's peace summit in Switzerland.

However, Orban is a close friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Brussels has stressed that the Hungarian leader's comments are not representative of the bloc as a whole.

China's President Xi, for his part, used Orban's visit to call on the international community to "create conditions and provide assistance for the two sides to resume direct dialogue and negotiations," according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.

"Only when all major powers exert positive energy rather than negative energy can the dawn of a ceasefire in this conflict appear as soon as possible," he reportedly said.

Orban left Beijing on Monday on his way to Washington for a three-day NATO summit.

The Russian FSB security service said on Monday that it had foiled an attempt to convince a Russian pilot to land his strategic bomber in Ukraine as part of a defection.

The FSB said "the secret services of NATO countries" had been involved in the plan to capture the TU-22M3 plane.

The pilot had allegedly been promised financial compensation and an Italian passport in an attempt "to persuade him to land the strategic bomber in Ukraine."

Ukraine did not immediately comment on the claim.

Last year, Russian pilot Maxim Kuzminov was convinced to defect with his Mi-8 helicopter to Ukrainian-held territory. He was later found dead in Spain. Russia has been accused of assassinating targets both inside and outside of Russia.

Explosions were heard across Kyiv on Monday morning amid reports that Russian forces had fired more than 40 missiles, including hypersonic Kinzhal missiles, at Ukrainian cities across the country.

"As of this minute, five people have been reported killed. The information is being updated," Sergiy Popko said on Telegram.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that a children's hospital was hit in Kyiv, along with residential buildings.

"Russian terrorists once again massively attacked Ukraine with missiles. Different cities: Kyiv, Dnipro, Kryvy Rig, Sloviansk, Kramatorsk. More than 40 missiles of various types. Residential buildings, infrastructure and a children's hospital were damaged," the president said.

The Ukrainian Air Force reported on the use of Kinzhal missiles. At 10 times the speed of sound, these missiles are much harder to shoot down and are some of the most advanced weaponry in the Russian arsenal.

The head of Ukraine's presidential office, Andrii Yermal, said that many people were in the streets at the time of the attack.

ab/lo (Reuters, AP, AFP, dpa)