Ukraine’s largest children’s hospital was partially destroyed in a Russian missile barrage that struck several cities across the country, killing at least 29 people and injuring almost 100.
A large section of Okhmatdyt children’s hospital, in Kyiv, was reduced to rubble. Authorities said it was hit by a cruise missile, a weapon designed to deliver a large warhead with high precision.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy vowed retaliation, saying Ukraine would initiate a meeting of the United Nations' security council following the strike.
A later strike hit a second medical centre in Kyiv, killing at least four people and wounding several others, city authorities said.
The daytime Russian barrage targeted five Ukrainian cities with more than 40 missiles of different types, including Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, one of the most advanced Russian weapons, hitting apartment buildings and public infrastructure. The Kinzhal flies at ten times the speed of sound, making it hard to intercept.
Mr Zelenskyy said Russian forces fired more than 40 missiles, damaging infrastructure, commercial and residential buildings in several cities on Monday morning.
About 10 people died in Kyiv, with about 35 wounded.
Pictures distributed by officials from the children's medical showed staff wearing bloodstained scrub and people digging through mounds of rubble, as black smoke billowed.
Volunteers formed a line, passing stones and debris to each other.
“There are people under the rubble and the exact number of casualties is still unknown,” said Mr Zelenskyy.
“Right now, everyone is helping to clear the rubble – doctors and ordinary people.”
Parents were seen dazed and sobbing, holding their babies as they walked out on the street.
“We heard an explosion, then we were showered with debris,” Svitlaka Kravchenko, 33, told Reuters after she and her husband Viktor took shelter from the missile strike.
Their two-month-old baby was unharmed but Ms Kravchenko suffered cuts and their car was buried under the rubble of the destroyed building.
“It was scary. I couldn’t breathe, I was trying to cover [my baby]. I was trying to cover him with this cloth so that he could breathe,” she said.
Nina, a 68-year-old hospital employee, said she always assumed that Okhmatdyt was protected.
"We were 100 percent sure that (the Russians) would not hit here," she told AFP, as she described the frantic rush as staff moved children with IV drips to the bunker.
"I'd rather be killed! I've already lived! But why these children," she asked.
The head of Ukraine’s presidential office, Andriy Yermal, said the attack occurred when many people were in the city’s streets.
Kyiv's mayor Vitali Klitschko said the strike on the hospital was one of the worst of the war.
The UN humanitarian coordinator for Ukraine harshly condemned the strikes across Ukraine, including on Kyiv, saying "dozens of people have been killed and injured".
"It is unconscionable that children are killed and injured in this war," she said in a statement.
The attack, the heaviest Russian bombardment of Kyiv in about four months, came as Mr Zelenskyy was due in Warsaw before the Nato summit in Washington.
“This callous aggression – a total disregard for human life, jeopardising European & Transatlantic security – is why leaders will make significant security commitments to Ukraine this week,” the US ambassador to Ukraine, Bridget Brink, said on X.
Chinese President Xi Jinping called on world powers to help Russia and Ukraine resume direct dialogue during a meeting Monday with Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban, state broadcaster CCTV reported.
Mr Orban made a surprise visit to China after similar trips last week to Russia and Ukraine to discuss prospects for a peaceful settlement to end the war.
Hungary assumed the rotating presidency of the EU this month and Mr Orban has since embarked on a peace mission.
Gulf Under 19s final
Dubai College A 50-12 Dubai College B
THE SPECS
Range Rover Sport Autobiography Dynamic
Engine: 5.0-litre supercharged V8
Transmission: six-speed manual
Power: 518bhp
Torque: 625Nm
Speed: 0-100kmh 5.3 seconds
Price: Dh633,435
On sale: now
Another way to earn air miles
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
Tightening the screw on rogue recruiters
The UAE overhauled the procedure to recruit housemaids and domestic workers with a law in 2017 to protect low-income labour from being exploited.
Only recruitment companies authorised by the government are permitted as part of Tadbeer, a network of labour ministry-regulated centres.
A contract must be drawn up for domestic workers, the wages and job offer clearly stating the nature of work.
The contract stating the wages, work entailed and accommodation must be sent to the employee in their home country before they depart for the UAE.
The contract will be signed by the employer and employee when the domestic worker arrives in the UAE.
Only recruitment agencies registered with the ministry can undertake recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers.
Penalties for illegal recruitment in the UAE include fines of up to Dh100,000 and imprisonment
But agents not authorised by the government sidestep the law by illegally getting women into the country on visit visas.
Where to donate in the UAE
The Emirates Charity Portal
You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.
The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments
The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
Al Noor Special Needs Centre
You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.
Beit Al Khair Society
Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.
Dar Al Ber Society
Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.
Dubai Cares
Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.
Emirates Airline Foundation
Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.
Emirates Red Crescent
On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.
Gulf for Good
Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.
Noor Dubai Foundation
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).
