War between Ukraine and Russia live: Kyiv mourns 41 dead in deadliest attack by Putin’s forces on a children’s hospital

Joe Biden said the deadly Russian missile attacks in Ukraine, including on Kyiv’s largest children’s hospital, were “a terrible reminder of Russia’s brutality.”

“Russia’s missile strikes today that killed dozens of Ukrainian civilians and caused damage and casualties at Kyiv’s largest children’s hospital are a terrible reminder of Russia’s brutality,” Biden said in a statement released by the White House.

The US president said Washington and its NATO allies would announce new measures to strengthen Ukraine’s air defenses this week.

“It is critical that the world continues to stand with Ukraine at this important moment and that we do not ignore Russian aggression,” Biden said.

His comments come after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine would retaliate and called on Kyiv’s Western allies to respond decisively to the attack.

A fire broke out at an electrical substation in Russia’s Rostov region after Ukraine launched “dozens” of drones overnight, Vasily Golubev, governor of the southern Russian region bordering Ukraine, said today.

“As a result of an airstrike in the Rodionovo-Nesvetaysky district, two transformers at a substation caught fire,” Golubev said, adding that air defense systems destroyed dozens of drones.

Numerous other people were injured on Monday, officials said, when a rocket hit a major children’s hospital in the capital, Kyiv.

Svitolina played with a black band on her white top throughout the match on Court No. 2 and the 21st seed triumphed after an outstanding performance over Xinyu Wang 6-2, 6-1.

And while rescue workers in Ukraine search the rubble for victims after the latest Russian attack, Svitolina spoke on the pitch about how difficult it is to play under these circumstances.

“It was definitely a good performance from my side,” said Svitolina, thanking her team on the sidelines, including her partner and teammate Gael Monfils. “Today is a very difficult day for the Ukrainian people.”

At least 41 civilians were killed in broad daylight yesterday when Russia fired a missile at Kyiv’s main children’s hospital, the country’s deadliest wave of airstrikes in months.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said more than 100 buildings were damaged in the wave of attacks, including the children’s hospital and a maternity center in Kyiv, kindergartens, a business center and residential buildings.

“Russian terrorists must answer for this,” he wrote. “Being concerned does not stop terror. Condolences are not a weapon.”

Damage was reported in the central cities of Kryvyi Rih and Dnipro as well as two cities in eastern Ukraine, the Ukrainian Interior Ministry said.

The Ukrainian air defense shot down 30 of 38 missiles, the Air Force said.

An online video showed a missile heading toward the children’s hospital, followed by a powerful explosion. The video’s location was verified using visible landmarks. Russian forces likely used the Kh-101 cruise missile, Ukraine’s Security Service said, identifying the projectile.

According to the Kiev military authorities, 27 people, including three children, were killed and 82 others were injured in the capital as a result of the main rocket attack and an attack that followed two hours later.

Parents with babies in their arms walked dazed and sobbing in the street outside the hospital after the rare airstrike in broad daylight. Windows had been smashed and paneling torn off, and hundreds of Kyiv residents helped clear away the rubble.

“It was scary. I couldn’t breathe and I tried to cover (my baby). I tried to cover him with this cloth so he could breathe,” said 33-year-old Svitlana Kravchenko.

Russia is trying to deflect responsibility for the deaths of civilians in Ukraine, Amnesty International said after a Russian missile pierced the Ohmatdyt Children’s Hospital in Kyiv, forcing hundreds of patients into the streets.

“The destruction of hospitals, residential buildings and critical infrastructure is abhorrent and any actions that target or disregard civilians must be unequivocally condemned. The evidence now widely available, some of which has been confirmed by Amnesty International experts, including videos of the attack that destroyed the Ohmatdyt Children’s Hospital in Kyiv, consistently suggests that the hospital was hit by an oncoming Russian cruise missile,” said Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Director.

She added: “Russia’s attempts to shift the blame onto the Ukrainian air defenses are a callous audacity that seeks to divert attention from Russia’s responsibility for the deaths of civilians and the destruction of medical facilities.”

“The horrifying images we saw today from the sites of two waves of attacks in Kyiv remind us of the cruelty of Russian aggression against Ukraine. The number of civilians killed across the country continues to rise, including in today’s rocket attacks on Kryvyi Rih, Pokrovsk, Dnipro, Kramatorsk and Sloviansk,” said the regional director of the top human rights organization.

“These brutal acts will not stop until those who commit crimes under international law know that they will be held personally accountable. This tragic day must serve as another urgent alarm to the entire international community that immediate and effective action is needed to ensure justice is done,” she said.

Chinese soldiers have landed in Belarus to take part in military “anti-terror” exercises on the border with Poland.

The Belarusian Defense Ministry said the 11-day “joint anti-terrorist exercise” would begin on Monday and would “improve coordination between Belarusian and Chinese units.” According to Chinese media, the exercises would take place in Brest on the Polish border.

Photos taken Saturday from Baranovichi air base, about 100 miles southwest of Minsk, showed Chinese soldiers wearing field caps unloading equipment from a single Xian Y-20, a heavy strategic transport aircraft nicknamed “Chubby Girl.”