Video: Bombardment kills dozens, accusations between Russia and Ukraine, and an attempt to hijack a Russian bomber

The Russian war on Ukraine continues, and in the latest developments on the ground, Ukrainian officials said that Russia launched missiles on various cities across Ukraine during the day on Monday morning, killing at least 29 civilians. The attack caused severe damage to the main children's hospital in Kiev in the most violent airstrike in months.

The United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine, Denise Brown, "strongly" condemned the Russian strikes on Monday on Ukrainian cities, including the capital Kiev, which "left dozens dead and wounded."

Violent Russian Bombardment

Referring to a strike on the Okhmatdate Children's Hospital, which Kiev said was carried out by a Russian cruise missile, Brown said in a statement, "It is illogical that children are being killed and injured in this war."

The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed that all targeted Ukrainian military sites were hit. The Russian Defense Ministry said that the severe damage recorded by Kiev after the Russian strikes on Monday was the result of a Ukrainian air defense missile falling.

Mutual accusations

The ministry said in a statement that photos and videos from the scene "confirm that the damage was caused by a Ukrainian air defense missile," noting that Russian forces hit their military and industrial "targets."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Monday that there were people trapped under the rubble of a children's hospital in Kiev that was bombed by Russia on Monday.

He wrote on social media, "There are people under the rubble and the exact number of victims is still unknown," adding, "Currently, everyone, doctors and ordinary people, are helping to remove the rubble."

أوكرانيا || في حصيلة أولية عشرة قتلى في قصف روسي على مشفى بمدينة كييف. pic.twitter.com/E804Xw2V1b

— احمد الشبلي (@Ahmad_1alshble) July 8, 2024

Before that, Zelensky announced that Russian forces had launched "more than 40 missiles" on Monday on a number of Ukrainian cities, including the capital, Kiev.

Zelensky said via Telegram that the missiles hit, in addition to Kiev, "Dnipro, Kryvyi Rih, Slovyansk and Kramatorsk," noting that residential buildings, infrastructure and a children's hospital were hit. He added, "All equipment has been mobilized to save as many lives as possible."

Medical center targeted

A Russian strike on a medical center in Kyiv also killed at least four people, Ukrainian authorities said Monday, hours after a strike on a children's hospital in another district.

"Debris reported in Dniprovskoye district. Medical center partially damaged. Four dead, three wounded reported," Ukrainian emergency services said on Telegram. The head of the Ukrainian presidential administration, Andriy Yermak, said on Telegram that the cause was "a new Russian strike" on a medical center.

Five civilians were killed when a mine planted by Russian forces exploded in their car on a forest road, the head of the Kharkiv military district, Oleg Synegubov, said Monday.

Synegubov wrote on Twitter that the explosion occurred "near cemetery number 17 on an unpaved forest road leading to the village of Tserkony", adding that the dead included a 53-year-old man, two women aged 64 and 25, a five-year-old boy and a three-month-old baby.

Bomber Hijacking Attempt

On the Russian side, the Public Relations Center of the Russian Federal Security Service announced the thwarting of an attempt by Ukrainian intelligence, with the support of NATO countries, to organize the hijacking of a Tu-22M3 strategic bomber to Ukraine.

The statement issued by the Russian Federal Security Service today, Monday, explained: "The Russian Federal Security Service thwarted another attempt by Ukrainian security forces to carry out the hijacking of a long-range strategic bomber of the Russian Air Force, Tu-22M3."

According to the statement, Ukrainian intelligence planned to recruit a Russian military pilot and convince him to fly a missile carrier and land in Ukraine, in exchange for a financial reward and granting him Italian citizenship.

The statement added that the involvement of NATO intelligence services in preparing and executing the operation was revealed.