Biden condemns Russian ‘brutality’ in deadly attacks on Ukraine at NATO leaders’ meeting | Ukraine

Joe Biden called one of the heaviest Russian airstrikes on Ukraine since the war began “a terrible reminder of Russia’s brutality.” There was widespread international outrage over Monday’s attacks, and NATO leaders met to announce new measures to bolster Ukraine’s air defenses.

Volodymyr Zelensky’s government declared a day of mourning on Tuesday after at least 37 civilians were killed in a series of attacks, including one targeting Ukraine’s largest children’s hospital. An unknown number of people are buried under the rubble in Kyiv.

“It is critical that the world continues to stand with Ukraine at this important moment and that we do not ignore Russian aggression,” the US president said in a White House statement, adding: “We will announce new measures to strengthen Ukraine’s air defenses to help protect its cities and civilians.”

The president’s statement came on the eve of a NATO summit in Washington marking the 75th anniversary of the transatlantic alliance, bringing together President Volodymyr Zelensky and the leaders of countries that have provided Kyiv with tens of billions of dollars in military aid.

Zelensky said Monday’s attack damaged more than 100 buildings, including the children’s hospital and a maternity center in Kyiv. “Russian terrorists must answer for this,” he said, adding: “Concern does not stop terror. Condolences are not a weapon.”

Images that went around the world showed parents with babies in their arms on the streets outside Kyiv’s Okhmatdyt hospital, dazed and crying 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.

The attack largely destroyed the children’s hospital’s toxicology unit, which was treating patients with severe kidney problems. Hundreds of rescue workers and volunteers helped clear the rubble and search for survivors. Officials and rescue workers said it was not immediately clear how many doctors and patients – dead or alive – were left. – remained trapped under the rubble.

Zelensky, who was in Poland at the time of the attack before travelling to Washington DC, put the death toll across the country at 37, including three children, and more than 170 injured. According to Reuters, the number of victims at attack sites in various regions was at least 41.

The government declared a day of mourning on Tuesday to mark one of the heaviest air raids of the war, adding that Monday’s attacks had highlighted the urgent need to strengthen air defences.

At a press conference in Warsaw on Monday, attended by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Zelensky called on Kyiv’s Western allies to respond decisively to the attack.

“We will take revenge on these people and will certainly give Russia a strong response. The question for our partners is: can they respond?” Zelensky said.

Zelensky has claimed for months that his country does not have enough air defense systems and has requested at least seven more Patriot batteries in addition to those already donated by the US, Germany and the Netherlands. Russia is exploiting the gaps in Ukraine’s air defenses to carry out devastating attacks on civilians and infrastructure and to harass Kiev’s troops on the front lines.

Observers expect NATO members to promise Ukraine at least four more Patriot missile batteries at the end of the summit this week.

The package presented by NATO countries has been described as “historic” and is widely seen as an attempt to “future-proof” further aid to Ukraine – but it is unlikely to fully satisfy Kyiv.

The UN Security Council is scheduled to meet on Tuesday at the request of Britain, France, Ecuador, Slovenia and the United States.

Responding to Monday’s attack, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the “attack on innocent children” as “the most reprehensible act of all,” while Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani called the missile attack a “war crime.”

A spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres said he strongly condemned the “particularly shocking” attacks on the children’s hospital and another medical facility.

UN Human Rights Commissioner Volker Türk condemned the Russian attacks as “abhorrent.” The French Foreign Ministry called the bombing of a children’s hospital “barbaric” and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau described the attack as “abhorrent.”

Russia, which has carried out repeated attacks on civilian infrastructure throughout the war, denied responsibility for the deaths on Monday. In a statement, the Defense Ministry attributed the incident – without directly referring to the hospital explosion – to Ukrainian anti-aircraft missiles, although there was visible evidence pointing to a Russian attack.

Andriy Yermak, the head of the Ukrainian president’s office, shared an image on X that appeared to show a Russian missile over Kyiv shortly before it hit a hospital. He identified it as a Kh-101 cruise missile. The Ukrainian security service said it found debris at the site of the cruise missile, which flies low to avoid detection by radar.

Reuters and Agence France-Presse contributed to this report