Russia Selenskyj: Targeted Russian attack on children's clinic

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has rejected Russian claims of an air defense error at a children's hospital in Kiev that was hit. "What cynicism the bastards in the Kremlin have shown, that it was allegedly Ukrainian air defense and not a targeted missile strike," said the Ukrainian head of state at a press conference with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in Warsaw.

Zelenskyi thanked all those who had posted videos on the Internet "on which it can be seen concretely that it is not just a part of one or another missile, but a direct missile strike that killed and injured many people".

The Russian Ministry of Defense had previously claimed in a statement that an anti-aircraft missile fired from the outskirts of the city had caused the damage. In this way, Kiev is attempting to extract further financial aid from its Western allies ahead of the NATO summit in Washington on Tuesday.

A massive Russian airstrike on the capital Kiev, among other places, severely damaged a children's hospital in the city of three million. At least two civilians were killed. In Kiev alone, at least 15 people were killed and more than 37 others injured in the air strikes. According to Selenskyj, 27 people were killed and over 100 others injured across the country.

Ukraine has been defending itself against a Russian invasion for more than two years with Western help. Due to regular Russian missile and drone attacks, Kiev is pushing for its allies to provide modern Western air defense systems.

SDA