The attack came on the eve of a three-day NATO summit in Washington that will examine ways to reassure Ukraine of the alliance’s unwavering support and give Ukrainians hope of surviving the war.
 "Russia bombs Ukraine, killing dozens, attacks on Kiev children's hospital")
This was Russia’s biggest bombing raid on Kiev in nearly four months | (File photo: PTI)AP Kiev
Massive Russian missile attacks across Ukraine on Monday killed at least 31 people and wounded 154, according to officials, including one that struck a major children’s hospital in the capital, Kiev, sending rescuers sifting through the rubble for victims.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a social media post that Russian barrages targeted five Ukrainian cities, firing more than 40 missiles of different types and destroying apartments and civil infrastructure.
Interior Minister Igor Klimenko said at least 20 people were killed and about 50 wounded across the country in Monday morning’s attack. In Kryvyi Rog, 31 were wounded in addition to the 10 killed in what city administrator Oleksandr Birkul said was a massive missile attack. Local authorities also reported explosions in the Dnipropetrovsk region in central Ukraine.
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At Okhmadit pediatric hospital in Kyiv, rescuers were searching for people under the rubble of a partially collapsed building, President Zelenskiy said, adding that the number of casualties was not yet known.
“It is now very important that the world does not remain silent and that everyone knows what kind of country Russia is and what it is doing,” Zelensky said on social media.
The attack came on the eve of a three-day NATO summit in Washington that will consider how to assure Ukraine of its unwavering allies’ support and give Ukrainians hope that they can overcome Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II.
The two-story children’s hospital building was partially destroyed, while the main 10-story hospital building had its windows and doors blown out and its walls charred.
Medical personnel and local residents helped move debris and search for children and medical personnel who may be trapped underneath. Volunteers formed lines, passing stones and debris to each other. Smoke was still rising from the building, and volunteers and emergency workers worked wearing protective masks.
It was Russia’s heaviest bombing of Kiev in four months. The daytime attack used one of Russia’s most advanced weapons, the Kinzhal hypersonic missile, which travels at 10 times the speed of sound and is difficult to intercept, according to the Ukrainian Air Force. The explosion shook buildings across the city, and an entire block of a high-rise residential building in one Kiev district was destroyed, authorities said.
Kiev city authorities reported falling debris, possibly from an intercepted missile, causing fires in several parts of the city. Heavy smoke rose from several districts of Kiev.
Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian presidential administration, said the attack took place at a time when many people were on the streets.
Kiev Mayor Vitaly Klitschko said an official assessment of the impact of the attack was still being carried out.
