US President Joe Biden has condemned a series of Russian missile strikes that killed at least 38 people in Ukraine, calling it a “horrific reminder of Russia’s brutality.” He pledged to bolster Kyiv’s air defenses in response.
At least 190 people were injured nationwide, including some at a children’s hospital in Kyiv on Monday.
Russia has denied targeting the Kyiv hospital, but the UN has stated it is highly likely that Moscow was responsible for the blast—a conclusion also supported by analysts who spoke to BBC Verify.
This development comes as President Biden prepares to host a NATO summit in Washington on Tuesday.
During the summit, the US president announced that further enhancements to Ukraine’s air defenses would be revealed.
Leaders from the 32 NATO member states, partner countries, and the EU are gathering to commemorate the alliance’s 75th anniversary. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky is also expected to attend.
Zelensky has been urging Western allies for months to increase air defense deliveries amid heightened Russian attacks. UN officials reported that May was the deadliest month for civilian casualties in nearly a year.
The summit will focus on defense and deterrence in the context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
While Ukraine is not a NATO member, it has requested to join as soon as possible after its conflict with Russia ends. NATO’s outgoing Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, has stated that Ukraine’s membership is “inevitable” but will only occur post-war.
Russia strongly opposes Ukraine’s membership, fearing it would bring NATO forces too close to its borders.
“We will be announcing new measures to strengthen Ukraine’s air defences to help protect their cities and civilians from Russian strikes,” Mr Biden said.
“I will be meeting with President Zelensky to make clear our support for Ukraine is unshakeable.”
The UN Security Council is also meeting on Tuesday at Ukraine’s request.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres joined Western officials in condemning Russia’s missile attack on Ukraine.
Kyiv’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, declared 9 July as a day of mourning following the deadly attacks on the capital.
UN officials said May was the deadliest month for civilian casualties in almost a year.
UN blames Russia for deadly hospital blast
Two people died when a missile flattened part of the Ohmatdyt Children’s Hospital, Ukraine’s largest pediatric facility. The search for survivors beneath the rubble was completed on Tuesday morning.
The Kremlin denied responsibility for the attack, with foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova claiming the blast was caused by a misfired NASAMS air defense missile.
However, the UN’s human rights monitoring mission in Ukraine stated there was a high likelihood that Russia carried out the attack. Officials cited video footage and a site assessment indicating that the building was directly hit by a Russian missile.
BBC Verify analyzed two videos showing a missile striking the hospital and confirmed the strike location through geolocation. Six munitions experts who reviewed the footage unanimously agreed that the missile was not an air defense missile. While they could not definitively identify the type of munition used, they concluded it was likely an air-launched Russian missile. Four of the six experts specifically mentioned the Russian Kh-101 missile as a possibility, consistent with claims by Ukraine’s security services (SBU), which stated it had “unequivocal” evidence that Russia was behind the attack.
One expert noted the presence of a small turbofan engine at the rear of the missile, consistent with the Kh-101.
President Zelensky called the attack “brutal” and described Russian President Vladimir Putin as a “bloody criminal.”
Pictures from the blast site at the Kyiv hospital, which specializes in cancer treatment and organ transplants, showed children hooked up to IV drips sitting outside the damaged facility awaiting evacuation.
Zelensky reported that Russia launched more than 40 missiles on Monday, damaging nearly 100 buildings in Kyiv, Dnipro, Sloviansk, Kramatorsk, and his hometown of Kryvyi Rih.
The Ukrainian government says it urgently needs new US-made Patriot air defense systems, but Western officials have been reluctant to provide more of the limited number of these surface-to-air batteries.
The UK’s new Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, condemned the attack as “the most depraved of actions.” Britain, a key Western ally of Ukraine, has pledged to maintain support for Kyiv. Sir Keir is set to meet President Biden at the White House on Wednesday on the sidelines of the NATO summit.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told the BBC that the Kremlin would be following the summit “extremely closely.”
“It is an alliance which has repeatedly and openly declared that its aim is to deliver Russia a strategic defeat on the battlefield,” Mr Peskov.
Meanwhile, Russian officials said a fire had broken out at a power substation in the Rostov region, bordering Ukraine, after overnight drone attacks.
The regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said four people were killed and 20 injured in attacks by Ukraine over the past day.