Russia launched a pair of drone strikes on a hospital in northeastern Ukraine Saturday, killing at least nine people and injuring 20 others, Ukrainian officials said.
The attacks on the medical center in the city of Sumy, just 20 miles from the Russian border, came back-to-back, with the second strike coming as first responders were evacuating dozens of patients and staff from the building, officials said.
“The first attack killed one person and damaged the ceilings of several floors of the hospital,” Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said, adding that more were killed during the second strike.
Ukraine’s state emergency services said 122 people were evacuated from the building during the attacks that killed nine, including one police officer. Several floors in the hospital were destroyed in the attacks, which sparked a fire.
“Everyone in the world who talks about this war should pay attention to where Russia is hitting. They are fighting hospitals, civilian objects, and people’s lives,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
“Only force can force Russia to peace. Peace through force is the only right way.”
Attacks on Sumy — including drones and guided bombs — have surged in recent weeks, following Ukraine’s surprise incursion into the Russian border territory Kursk, where Kyiv’s forces seized dozens of settlements.
The daring move was an attempt to stymie Russian troops’ advancement into eastern Ukraine, where they have in turn taken over several towns and villages in recent weeks.
Saturday’s strikes came just a day after Zelensky met with former President Donald Trump at Trump Tower in New York, despite the Republican nominee ripping him during a recent campaign rally for making “nasty little aspersions” and refusing to strike a deal with Russia
On Thursday, the Ukrainian leader sat down with President Biden as well as Vice President Kamala Harris in Washington, where Zelesnky presented his “victory plan” that he hopes will pressure Russia into ending the war.
During Zelensky’s stateside trip, Biden announced more than $8 billion in military aid for Ukraine.
With Post wires
