Russia fired a barrage of missiles at the city of Kiev and other Ukrainian cities in a rare daytime attack on Monday, killing at least 20 people across the country and hitting a major children’s hospital, officials said.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian troops fired more than 40 missiles targeting different cities and damaging infrastructure and commercial and residential buildings in different Ukrainian cities.

Kiev city authorities said seven people were killed and at least 25 wounded in the attack on the capital. In Kryviy Rih, Zelensky’s hometown, 10 people were killed and 31 wounded, Mayor Oleksandr Vilkul said.

Three more people were killed in Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine when missiles hit an industrial facility, the regional governor of Donestk said.

“All services are involved to save as many people as possible ,” Zelensky said on the Telegram messaging app. “And the whole world should use all its power to finally put an end to the attacks by Russian forces.”

Russia has repeatedly denied ever targeting civilians

A major attack on Ukraine came as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban met with Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss a potential peace deal with Ukraine, making an unexpected visit to Beijing .

Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the attack on the capital was one of the heaviest since the Russian invasion began in February 2022.

He said the city’s main children’s hospital was damaged. Windows were shattered and panels ripped off. Parents holding babies ran out into the street, dazed and sobbing.

“We heard an explosion and then we were covered by debris,” Svitlaka Kravchenko, 33, told Reuters after she and her husband Viktor emerged from the shelter.

O bebê de dois meses saiu incólume, mas Svitlana sofreu cortes e o coche ficou totalmente enterrado sob os escombros do prédio destruído, do outro lado do recinto da flanco principal.

“Foi tremendo. Eu não conseguia respirar, estava tentando ocultar (meu bebê). Eu estava tentando cobri-lo com esse tecido para que ele pudesse respirar”, disse ela.

As autoridades locais e regionais afirmaram que instalações industriais, infraestruturas e edifícios residenciais e comerciais foram danificados em Kyi, Kryviy Rih, Dnipro, Pokrovsk, Kramatarosk e outros.

Fonte: CNN