Defense Minister condemns "cowardly" attack on Kyiv, hitting children's hospital
Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans condemned a “cowardly” Russian airstrike on various cities in Ukraine on Monday. The missile attack killed people in Kyiv, Dnipro, Kryvyi Rih, Slov'yansk, and Kramatorsk, also hitting a children’s hospital in the Ukrainian capital, according to the Kyiv Post.
“Russian terrorism knows no bounds: now a cowardly attack on a children’s hospital,” the VVD Defense Minister said. “Now that I have just returned from Kyiv, this is even more painful to see.”
Brekelmans and Foreign Affairs Minister Caspar Veldkamp visited Ukraine over the weekend, reaffirming the Netherlands’ support against the Russian aggressor and promising more aid in the form of F-16 fighter jets, Patriot air defense systems, and a mobile forensics lab for investigating war crimes.
The new Defense Minister said that this attack “strengthens my motivation to quickly deliver the Patriot parts and F-16s. And to continue to do more on anti-aircraft defense with partners!”
Little is known about the number of casualties and the extent of the damages caused by this bombardment. The mayor of Kyiv told Reuters that it was one of the biggest attacks on the city in two years of war.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on X that bystanders and doctors were searching the rubble of the Okhmatdyt Children's Hospital for victims. “Russia cannot claim ignorance of where its missiles are flying and must be held fully accountable for all its crimes. Against people, against children, against humanity in general. It is very important that the world does not remain silent about this now and that everyone sees what Russia is and what it is doing.”
