Extract from ABC News
In short:
At least 28 people have been killed and 100 others injured after Russia launched a barrage of missiles on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities.
Missiles hit a children's hospital in Ukraine's capital in one of the heaviest attacks since the start of Russia's invasion, Kyiv's mayor said.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia targeted five cities with more than 40 missiles.
At least 28 people have been killed and almost 100 others injured as Russia launched a barrage of missiles on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities, including a key children's hospital.
On Monday local time, Russian forces fired more than 40 missiles targeting different cities and damaging infrastructure, commercial and residential buildings in different Ukrainian cities, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
Seven people were killed and at least 25 were wounded in the strike on the capital, Kyiv city authorities said.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the attack on Kyiv was one of the heaviest since the start of Russia's invasion.
"This is one of the worst attacks. You can see: it's a children's hospital," he told Reuters as he stood near a heavily damaged building.
In Kryviy Rih, the native city of Mr Zelenskyy, 10 people were killed and 47 were injured, said Mayor Oleksandr Vilkul.
Another three people died in Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine when missiles hit an industrial facility, said Donestk's regional governor.
"All services are involved to save as many people as possible," Mr Zelenskyy said on the Telegram messaging app.
"And the whole world should use all its determination to finally put an end to the Russian strikes."
The Ukrainian president vowed retaliation on Monday during a visit to Warsaw, where he signed a security pact with Poland.
"We will retaliate against these people, we will deliver a powerful response from our side to Russia, for sure," he said.
Russia has repeatedly denied targeting civilians.
The head of Ukraine's presidential office, Andrii Yermal, said the attack occurred at a time when many people were in the city's streets.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said official assessments of the attack's consequences were still being carried out.
Explosions were also reported by local officials in Ukraine's central Dnipropetrovsk region.
The major attack on Ukraine came as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban met Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss a potential Ukraine peace deal, paying an unexpected visit to Beijing.
It also came on the eve of a three-day NATO summit in Washington, which will look at how to reassure Ukraine of the alliance's unwavering support and offer Ukrainians hope that their country can come through Europe's biggest conflict since World War II.
Children's hospital biggest in Ukraine
The hospital damaged in the strike was Ukraine's biggest children's medical facility, Mr Klitschko said.
Windows were smashed and panels ripped off.
Parents holding babies walked out into the street, dazed and sobbing.
"We heard an explosion, then we were showered with debris," Svitlaka Kravchenko, 33, told Reuters after she and her husband, Viktor, went out from the shelter.
Their two-month-old baby had been unharmed, but the mother had suffered cuts and their car was totally buried under the rubble of the destroyed building across the courtyard from the main ward.
"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.
Local and regional authorities said industrial facilities, infrastructure and residential and commercial buildings were damaged in Kyiy, Kryviy Rih, Dnipro, Pokrovsk, Kramatarosk and others.
The daylight attacks included Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, one of the most advanced Russian weapons, the Ukrainian air force said.
The Kinzhal flies at 10 times the speed of sound, making it hard to intercept.
City buildings reportedly shook from the blasts.
Reuters/AP
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