At least 23 people have been killed and several more injured in a series of Russian missile attacks on cities across Ukraine, including the capital Kyiv, on July 8, 2024. According to various reports from Ukrainian officials and media outlets, over 40 missiles were fired by Russia during the daytime attack. Among the cities targeted were Kyiv, Dnipro, Kryvyi Rih, Sloviansk, and Kramatorsk. In Kyiv alone, at least nine people were killed and a children's hospital was damaged and evacuated after being hit by a missile strike. The Okhmadyt children's hospital in Kyiv saw significant damage with plumes of smoke rising from the building as people were trapped under the rubble. Health Minister Viktor Lyashko reported that cancer and intensive care wards were hit in the blast, with young children evacuated from the hospital. Vitaliy Klitschko, Kyiv's mayor, called it one of the worst attacks on the capital since the start of the war.
Elsewhere in Ukraine, at least 10 people were killed and 31 injured in Kryvyi Rih. Three people were also reportedly killed in Pokrovsk. The Russian bombardment comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to sign a security pact with Poland during a visit there.
Russia has previously insisted its military does not target civilian infrastructure, but the UN's human rights monitoring mission in Ukraine has reported that civilian casualties have been mounting in recent months as Russia renewed its air campaign. A recent report said May was the deadliest month for civilian deaths in almost a year.
The attacks on July 8 marked the heaviest Russian bombardment of Kyiv since February 2022, with Kinzhal hypersonic missiles being used. The Kinzhal flies at ten times the speed of sound and is hard to intercept. City buildings shook from the blasts, with an entire section of a residential multistory building in one district of Kyiv destroyed. Falling debris from intercepted missiles started fires in several Kyiv neighborhoods.
The Ukrainian air force reported that more than 40 missiles were fired during the attack, with some hitting residential buildings and public infrastructure. The attacks occurred at a time when many people were in the streets, according to Kyiv Mayor Vitalii Klitschko. Official assessments of the attack's consequences are still being carried out.
