Russians killed at least 44 and injured 150 Ukrainians in their attack on Ukraine cities

At least 44 people were killed and more than 150 others injured after Russia launched a massive missile attack against cities across Ukraine. The overall death toll is likely to rise, given the scale of the strikes and the damage inflicted.

 In a rare daytime attack, at least 34 people were killed in the capital, Kyiv, BBC News notes. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is visiting Poland, said that Russia had fired some 40 missiles at targets across the country.

“Different cities: Kyiv, Dnipro, Kryvyi Rih, Sloviansk, Kramatorsk. More than 40 missiles of various types. Residential buildings, infrastructure and a children’s hospital were damaged,” he said.

Plumes of smoke could be seen across the capital of Ukraine, while a video posted on social media showed the destruction of the Okhmatdyt National Children’s Specialised Hospital – Ukraine’s biggest pediatrics facility. It has a reputation for being one of the best treatment centres in Central and Eastern Europe for children with blood cancer.

In a comment to Ukrainska Pravda, Volodymyr Zhovnir, the General Director of the Okhmatdyt Hospital, confirmed that one of the hospital buildings had been hit.

Reports indicate that two adults were killed at the Okhmadyt Hospital. One victim was a 30-year-old doctor from Lviv, Svitlana Lukyanchuk, according to Lviv mayor Andrii Sadovyy. Russians also killed another five doctors and employees at the Adonis hospital, according to Ukraine’s Health Ministry.

The Ministry of Health of Ukraine reported that 627 young patients were in the hospital at the time of the missile attack. Eight children and 50 adults sustained injuries at the Okhmatdyt facility. According to Viktor Liashko, Ukraine’s Minister of Health, a boy who suffered from the Russian attack on the Okhmatdyt Hospital died in the hospital on July 10. 

Lesia Lysytsia, a doctor at the children’s hospital in Kyiv, spoke to the BBC about the moment the missile struck. She described it as being “like in a film” with a “big light, then an awful sound”.

Zelenskyy said in a social media post that people were trapped under the rubble of the hospital. He added that the number of people injured at Okhmadyt Hospital was unclear.

Russia definitely knows what its missiles are targeting and must be held fully accountable for all its crimes: against people, against children and against humanity in general. It is of paramount importance that the world does not remain silent about this and that everyone sees what Russia is and what it is doing," Zelenskyy said.

Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko in the national joint 24/7 newscast said that rescue workers, law enforcement officers, and volunteers were rushing to reach the basement of the Okhmatdyt children’s hospital building, which was destroyed by a Russian missile strike. Children and medical staff were sheltering there during the air raid siren.

According to the minister, about 500 law enforcement officers and civilian volunteers are involved in clearing the rubble. People are working in shifts, as time is of the essence and people are getting tired.

Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital staff have shared their banking information for those who wish to make a financial donation to the hospital.

Vitaliy Klitschko, Kyiv’s mayor, told the Reuters news agency the bombardment was the worst attack on Kyiv since the start of the war.

Serhii Popko, head of Kyiv City Military Administration, reported that as of 14:54, there were already 17 dead and 41 injured persons as a result of the missile strike in the capital. Klitschko elaborated that two men who had been taken to hospital died in a Kyiv medical facility.

Moreover, Russians hit a residential building in Kyiv’s Shevchenkivskyy district. The State Emergency Service reports that five people were killed and four were injured in that specific area. The injured were sent to medical facilities for further treatment. 

Later, the Kyiv mayor reported from the scene that the building in question was an apartment block in the city’s Syrets microdistrict, with approximately 17 flats destroyed. According to him, another seven were killed at a business centre in the capital’s Solomyanskyy district.

DTEK energy company reported that its three substations were destroyed or damaged in Holosieivskiy and Shevchenkivskiy districts.The power grid was also damaged.

Elsewhere, Oleksandr Vilkul, head of the military administration in Kryvy Rih, posted on the Telegram messaging app that at least 10 people were killed and 31 wounded following the attack on the city. Of those, he said ten were seriously injured.

Kryvy Rih is Zelensky’s hometown and has been repeatedly attacked by Russia since it launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Three were killed in the eastern town of Pokrovsk, according to Vadym Filashkin, Head of Donetsk Oblast Military Administration.

Serhii Lysak, head of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Military Administration, said the Russians had also hit Dnipro and there were casualties there.

“A high-rise residential building and a business were damaged in Dnipro. A car service station was also damaged. There are casualties,” added Lysak.

At 12:55, Lysak reported that the number of civilians injured in the city of Kryvyi Rih had risen to 37. In addition, the official noted that a man had been killed and six more civilians injured in a Russian attack in Dnipro. One person is in severe condition.

Russia denied targeting civilian infrastructure, insisting the strikes had been aimed at military facilities.

Ukraine’s Defence Minister Rustem Umerov responded to the attacks by urging the country’s allies to help strengthen its air defences quickly.

“Our defence capabilities are still insufficient… We need more air defence systems,” he said.

The UN’s human rights monitoring mission in Ukraine has said civilian casualties have been mounting in recent months, as Russia renewed its air campaign. A recent report said May was the deadliest month for civilian deaths in almost a year.

The Russian bombardment comes as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Moscow for a two-day state visit to Russia, where he is due to hold talks at the Kremlin with Vladimir Putin. 

In addition, Russian Armed Forces have killed seven people and injured eight others in the past 24 hours in attacks on the Donetsk, Kharkiv, and Kherson regions of Ukraine, the Ukrainska Pravda reports, citing officials.

On 7 July, the Russians killed two civilians in Pivniche and Hrodivka in Donetsk Oblast. Another four people in the oblast were injured.

 The Russians attacked residential areas of settlements in Kherson Oblast, damaging two high-rise buildings and 19 houses. Local authorities also reported hits on an administrative building, a shop, and a gas pipeline. Outbuildings, a warehouse, and a motorcycle were also damaged.

Two people were injured due to Russian attacks.

Early reports indicate that a 53-year-old man, a 64-year-old woman, a 25-year-old woman, a 5-year-old boy, and a 3-month-old baby were killed as a result of their car hitting a mine near the village of Tsyrkuny in Kharkiv Oblast. 

The Russians also attacked the village of Bohuslavka in the Izium district. As a result of the attack, two houses were damaged. A 48-year-old man and a 70-year-old woman were injured, with the woman being taken to hospital.

Additionally, in the village of Novoplatonivka in the Izium district, Russian attacks  partially destroyed the community arts centre and damaged four houses. In the village of Mytrofanivka in the Kupiansk district, an MLRS strike damaged three pig farm buildings on the premises of an agricultural business.

Furthermore, a fire broke out in a house as a result of falling ammunition debris in Kharkiv’s Osnoviansk district on the night of 7-8 July. Two women, aged 50 and 75, were injured and taken to hospital.