Russian war of aggression - Kiev hopes for help after attack - pressure in Security Council
Ukraine hopes for more international support after the deadliest Russian air raid on Kiev this year. "We continue to work on the protection of our cities and communities from Russian terror", wrote President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on social media X. He thanked all foreign politicians who prepared new steps to protect Ukraine in the aftermath of the devastating attack on a children's clinic in Kiev. The support for Kiev is also a topic at the three-day NATO summit in Washington, where Zelenskyy arrived on Tuesday (local time).
At an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council in New York regarding the attacks, Moscow received criticism from the West as well as a signal from China. "The situation has unfortunately not calmed down, but rather escalated, and there have been brutal attacks that demanded many victims from time to time", said China's deputy ambassador, Geng Shuang. Beijing expressed itself in its usual cautious way and did not directly confront its partner Moscow.
Sharp criticism in New York
The USA did not hold back with sharp condemnation of the attacks with dozens of fatalities. It is "horrific" that Russia bombed a children's clinic. The British ambassador Barbara Woodward added that Moscow's behavior was "a disgrace for the Security Council". France's representative Nicolas de Rivière spoke of "another entry and a list of war crimes" for which Russia must be held accountable.
The Russian UN representative Vasily Nebenzia repeated the version of the Kremlin that the Russian attack targeted a factory near the hospital. In the process, an errant Ukrainian anti-aircraft missile allegedly hit the clinic. However, the UN Human Rights Office had previously reported that the building was directly hit by a Russian rocket of the type Kh-101 (Ch-101).
UN: Air raids on hospitals are war crimes
The United Nations meanwhile placed the air raid near the brink of a war crime. "I would like to remind this Council that hospitals, according to international humanitarian law, enjoy special protection. Deliberate attacks on a protected hospital are a war crime and the perpetrators must be held accountable", said Joyce Msuya, the acting head of the UN Humanitarian Affairs Office OCHA. Since Russia holds a veto power in the UN Security Council, action against Moscow's aggression by the most powerful UN body is excluded.
The death toll in Kiev from the air raid on Monday morning rose to 31 according to the latest count. There were 117 injured. Kiev was last severely hit just before the new year with at least 32 fatalities. Nationwide, Ukraine had to mourn at least 42 deaths and 190 injuries from the latest wave of attacks.
In Kiev, a day of mourning was set for Tuesday. At the large children's hospital Ochmatdyt (Protection of Mother and Child) with its completely destroyed facade, rescue efforts were called off after over 24 hours. Hundreds of rescuers, medics, and volunteers had searched in the rubble for victims until exhaustion. On Monday, rescued cancer-stricken children sat on their mothers' laps on the street at infusion stations. In the clinic, two adults were killed, including a doctor.
Moscow disputes version of a strike
The Ukraine is advocating for a targeted attack. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov countered, "We do not strike at civilian targets. There are only strikes against critical infrastructure or military targets," he told the Tass agency.
Russia attacked Kiev, Kryvyj Rih, Dnipro, and other cities with nearly 40 rockets and cruise missiles on Monday. All 600 patients in the clinic receiving stationary treatment were reportedly transferred to other healthcare facilities. The hospital, where many children with cancer and other serious illnesses were treated, was heavily damaged and cannot be used anymore without significant repairs.
At a destroyed house near the Kiev clinic, seven people were killed, including three children. A boy was dug out dead in the night. Two people died in an unspecified industrial plant. Unofficial reports suggest attacks on a weapons manufacturing company. At another partially destroyed hospital, nine people died, and at a business center, seven people were killed.
Ukraine sends swarms of combat drones to Russia
The Ukraine responded with intensified drone attacks on the heavy Russian rocket barrage. Swarms of drones reached areas in Russia. A fuel depot of the oil conglomerate Lukoil in the Volgograd region was set on fire. Regional governor Andrey Borodov reported damage caused by debris from downed drones. They had fallen on the city of Kalatsch on the Don.
The Russian Defense Ministry reported that, in the night to Tuesday, 38 Ukrainian combat drones were intercepted over the regions of Belgorod, Kursk, Voronezh, Rostov, and Astrakhan. Flights could not take off or land temporarily at the airports of Volgograd and Astrakhan.
The Ukraine has been defending itself against a Russian invasion for two years. Due to a lack of heavy long-range weapons, it tries to make up for this deficit through targeted drone attacks. The damages, however, do not compare to the devastating consequences of Russian bombardments on Ukraine.
Scholz promises support to Ukraine
Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) repeated his long-term support to Ukraine against the Russian aggression war once again. "It's good that we have reinforced this in the last few days with a clear message: We will support Ukraine as long as it is necessary," Scholz said in Berlin before his departure to the NATO summit. He referred to weapons deliveries and the joint initiative of the key industrial nations. The G7 countries had agreed at their summit in Italy to finance a credit package worth around 50 billion US dollars (approximately 47 billion Euros) using frozen Russian state assets and interest.
- China, during the UN Security Council meeting regarding the attacks, expressed its concern over the escalating situation and expressed its usual cautious stance towards its partner Moscow.
- At the NATO summit in Washington, the topic of support for Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression was a key discussion point, with Volodymyr Zelenskyy attending the summit to advocate for international aid.
- The USA strongly condemned the Russian air raids on Kiev, particularly the attack on a children's clinic, labeling it as "horrific" and a "disgrace for the Security Council."
- France's representative at the UN Security Council, Nicolas de Rivière, accused Russia of committing another list of war crimes and called for accountability.
- Russia's UN representative, Vasily Nebenzia, defended Russia's actions by claiming that the clinic was hit by a stray Ukrainian anti-aircraft missile, despite evidence suggesting otherwise.
- The UN Human Rights Office had previously reported that the children's clinic in Kiev was directly hit by a Russian rocket of the type Kh-101 (Ch-101), categorizing the attack as a potential war crime.
- In the aftermath of the attacks, Volodymyr Selenskyy thanked all foreign politicians who were preparing new steps to protect Ukraine, expressing his hope for more international support.
- The death toll from the air raid on Monday morning in Kiev reached 31, with 117 injured, making it one of the deadliest attacks on the city this year.
- The Ukrainian government has announced a day of mourning in Kiev in response to the air raid, with rescue efforts at the destroyed children's hospital in Kiev called off after over 24 hours.
- The Ukrainian government is advocating for targeted attacks against Russia in response to its aggression, with the Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov denying striking at civilian targets.
- The fight against Russia's aggression in Ukraine has resulted in intensified drone attacks from Ukraine, with targets in Russia reportedly hit, including an oil depot in the Volgograd region.
