Italy accuses Russia of war crime over strike on children’s hospital as Zelenskiy vows to retaliate over missile attack on Kyiv – live | Ukraine

As we reported earlier, Volodymyr Zelenskiy has visited his Polish counterpart, Donald Tusk, in Warsaw ahead of the Nato summit in Washington tomorrow.

Speaking to reporters, Tusk said that Poland was open to the idea of shooting down Russian missiles that were heading for Nato territory while they were still over Ukrainian soil.

“We need clear cooperation within Nato here, because such actions require such joint Nato responsibility … we are open to it, logic indicates it that this would absolutely be a more effective action,” he said.

His comments came as Zelenskiy vowed that Ukraine will retaliate after Russian missile strikes killed at least 29 people across his country and damaged a children’s hospital in Kyiv.

The Ukrainian president called on Kyiv’s allies to give a firm response to Monday’s attack in a press conference that started with a minute’s silence for the victims.

Zelenskiy said:

I would also like to hear from our partners (about) a greater resilience and a strong response to the blow that Russia has once again dealt to our people, to our land, to our children.

We will retaliate against these people, we will deliver a powerful response from our side to Russia, for sure. The question to our partners is: can they respond?

Zelenskiy said Kyiv wanted to be able to use weapons supplied by its partners to hit the sites in Russia that attacks were being launched from.

“I think, we would really like to receive such decision from our partners,” he said. “Or they would like to see the strikes again.”

Zelenskiy said Ukraine was waiting for concrete steps from its western partners to strengthen its air defences and protect its energy sector.

Earlier today, Tusk and Zelenskiy signed a security agreement, as other European countries, including France, Germany and the UK, have done with Kyiv. Ukraine and Poland agreed to further develop political, military, and economic cooperation, and “cooperate closely in the reconstruction of Ukraine as a sovereign and democratic state”.

The Ukrainian president has said he wanted to double Ukraine’s air defence capacity over the summer. Kyiv has indicated it hopes for progress on air defence supplies at the Nato summit. A senior US state department official has said Kyiv is expected to get “good news” at the summit.

The UN condemned Monday’s wave of deadly Russian strikes across Ukraine, including on Kyiv, saying “dozens of people have been killed and injured”.

“The week in Ukraine has started with another wave of deadly strikes by the Russian armed forces,” Denise Brown, humanitarian coordinator for Ukraine, said in a statement. “It is unconscionable that children are killed and injured in this war.”

“Under international humanitarian law, hospitals have special protection. Civilians must be protected,” she added.

Italy has accused Russia of committing a war crime during the missile attacks that hit the Ukrainian capital and damaged a children’s hospital.

The Italian foreign minister Antonio Tajani called for international condemnation of Russia on Monday.

“I am struck by the images of the bombings in Kyiv which also hit a children’s hospital. War crimes that must be condemned by the entire international community,” Tajani wrote on X, adding: “The [Italian] Government will continue to defend the sovereignty of Ukraine and its people.”

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has vowed to retaliation after the huge wave of Russian missile strikes on Ukraine killed at least 29 people and damaged a children’s hospital in Kyiv.

Ukraine would initiate a meeting of the United Nations’ security country following the strike, he said.

Officials have now said the Russian missile strikes across Ukraine today killed at least 29 civilians (the previous figure was 24 people).

Ten people were killed and 35 injured in the attacks on Kyiv, authorities said. Ohmatdyt children’s hospital – Ukraine’s biggest children’s medical facility – was seriously damaged in the attack. It is not clear yet whether anyone inside was killed.

About two hours later, debris from another missile attack hit a different hospital in Kyiv, killing four more people and injuring three others, the emergency services said.

Eleven people were killed and over 40 others injured in Ukraine’s southern city of Kryvyi Rih, the emergency services said. Three people had been killed in the eastern town of Pokrovsk where missiles hit an industrial facility, the regional governor said. One person was also killed in the city of Dnipro, officials said.