Condemning the daytime attacks, the UN’s top aid coordinator in Ukraine, Denise Brown, said that several cities were targeted, including the capital, Kyiv, Kryvyi Rih and Pokrovsk.
The attacks happened just “as people were starting their day. Dozens of people have been killed and injured,” said Ms. Brown, who reported heavy damage to the children’s hospital in the centre of Kyiv.
“It is unconscionable that children are killed and injured in this war. Under international humanitarian law, hospitals have special protection. Civilians must be protected,” she insisted.
The latest bloody development follows an alert from UN human rights office monitors that May saw the highest number of civilian casualties caused by Russian attacks in nearly a year.
According to the report by the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU), between 1 March and 31 May, at least 436 civilians were killed and a further 1,760 injured. Casualties included six media workers, 26 healthcare employees, five aid workers and 28 emergency services workers.
The UN report added that the majority (91 per cent) of the casualties were in territory controlled by Ukraine and nine per cent in Russian-occupied territory.
In the same reporting period, the Russian authorities reported that 91 civilians were killed and 455 injured in Russia from attacks launched by Ukrainian armed forces, primarily in Belgorod, Briansk and Kursk regions.
According to reports, at least 20 people were killed in Monday’s attacks, while President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that more than 40 missiles had been fired. In addition to the Ohmatdyt Children’s Hospital in Kyiv, other public infrastructure was also damaged, along with commercial and residential buildings in cities including Dnipro, Kramatorsk, Kryviy Rih, Kyi and Pokrovsk.