“Massive” Russian missile attack on Ukraine, 21 dead and a children’s hospital hit

LONDON and KIEV – At least 21 people were killed in Ukraine early Monday when Russia fired a salvo of more than 40 missiles in a “massive” attack, Ukrainian officials said.

The Ochmatdyt Children’s Hospital in Kyiv was damaged, as were residential areas and other infrastructure, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on social media.

It was initially unclear whether there were any injuries in the hospital, but children are probably trapped under the rubble, said Zelensky. Doctors, hospital staff and rescue workers are digging through the rubble, he said. The hospital is one of the most respected children’s hospitals in Ukraine.

“And the whole world must use all its determination to finally put an end to the Russian attacks. Putin brings killing,” said Zelensky. “Only together can we create real peace and security.”

The attack, one of the largest Russian attacks in months, came a day before US President Joe Biden began a three-day NATO summit in Washington, where the group is expected to discuss support for Ukraine.

The alliance is expected to make “significant” announcements about increased military and financial support for Ukraine, a senior White House official said last week.

Photos and videos shared by Zelensky and hospital staff on Monday appear to show bloodied doctors delivering children, a building on the hospital grounds reduced to rubble and the exterior of the main building blown up. One image appears to show young patients sitting in the street with their IVs after the explosion.

A doctor at the hospital told local media that the rocket destroyed a building where two operations were taking place at the time.

The Security Service of Ukraine said in a statement that it had launched a criminal investigation into the attack on the hospital, which it called a “war crime.” According to preliminary findings, the service said a Russian Kh-101 missile hit the building.

The rockets targeted cities such as Kyiv, Dnipro, Kryvyi Rih, Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, Zelensky said. At least eight of the dead were in Kyiv, officials said.

At least 10 people were killed and several others wounded in Russian airstrikes on Kryvyi Rih, a city in central Ukraine and Zelensky’s hometown, on Monday morning, officials said. Another three people were killed in Russian airstrikes on the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, officials said.

ABC News’ Joe Simonetti and Morgan Winsor contributed to this report.