Tuesday, July 9

Russia’s war against Ukraine

This photograph shows destroyed apartment buildings from inside a kindergarten room destroyed by a missile strike in Kyiv, on July 8, 2024, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Anatolii Stepanov/AFP via Getty Images)

Over 170 injured, 37 killed in Russian mass July 8 attack, Zelensky says. “Russian terrorists must be held accountable for this. Just being concerned does not stop terror. Compassion is not a weapon,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Russian missile struck children’s hospital in Kyiv following ‘programmed route,’ source says. “It (the missile) was not damaged by air defense systems and hit exactly the target it was programmed to hit,” a law enforcement source told the Kyiv Independent.

Government searching for options to relocate Okhmatdyt children’s hospital, Shmyhal says. The Ukrainian government is looking for new places to relocate the Okhmatdyt hospital, including its staff and patients, after the July 8 Russian attack, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said.

32,000 shelter in Kyiv metro stations amidst deadly July 8 attacks. During a deadly Russian missile attack on July 8, 32,000 people, including almost 2,200 children, sought refuge in Kyiv’s metro stations, according to the Kyiv City State Administration.

Russia improves ballistic, cruise missiles to make them harder to shoot down, official says. The cruise missiles traveled at extremely low altitudes during the recent attacks. Some of the aerial targets were shot down at an altitude of 50 meters, said Yurii Ihnat, former Air Force spokesman. The Russian military additionally equipped its missiles with radars and heat traps, according to Ihnat.

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WHO data suggest more Ukrainians could die in medical site attacks in 2024.

A Russian missile strike on Ukraine’s largest children’s hospital on July 8 underscored the increasing number of deadly attacks on medical facilities, vehicles, and workers in the country this year. This incident adds to data from the World Health Organization, suggesting that more Ukrainians could be killed in such attacks this year compared to 2023.

Ukraine calls UN Security meeting after mass Russian attack across country. “We must hold Russia accountable for terror and (Vladimir) Putin for the orders to launch strikes,” Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Zelensky repudiates Orban, says ‘only strong alliances’ can be mediators between Russia, Ukraine. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban visited Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on July 5, just days after meeting President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv.

Ukraine intercepted 30 of 38 Russian missiles during mass attack, Air Force says. In total, Russian forces launched one Kinzhal ballistc missile, four Iskander-M ballistic missile, one 3M22 Zirkon missile, 13 Kh-101 cruise missiles, 14 Kalibr cruise missiles, two Kh-22 cruise missiles, and three Kh-59/69 guided aerial missiles, according to the statement.

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Ukraine war latest: Mass Russian missile strike kills, injures over 200 civilians

The aerial attack targeted Kyiv, Dnipro, Kryvyi Rih, Sloviansk, Pokrovsk, and Kramatorsk, damaging “50 civilian sites, including residential buildings, a business center, and two medical facilities,” the State Emergency Service reported.

Photo: Yan Dobronosov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

Congresswoman says Biden should ease restrictions on Ukraine’s use of US weaponry on Russian soil

Rep. McCollum spoke with the Kyiv Independent just before Russia on July 8 carried out its latest massive air strikes on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities after returning from a meeting with Zelensky in Kyiv and before Congress returned to session Monday.

Photo: Cheryl Diaz Meyer/Star Tribune via Getty Images

Quiet Kyiv neighborhood hit in a mass Russian attack

On a Monday morning, Nataliia Fedorenko and her mother felt lucky to survive their daily routine: walking their dog in a normally sleepy northwestern residential neighborhood.

Photo: Yan Dobronosov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

Shock, fury at the site of children’s hospital attack

Nurse Olesia Filonenko was preparing for the first operation of the day at the Okhmatdyt children’s hospital in Kyiv when she heard explosions “somewhere far away.”

Photo: Chris York/The Kyiv Independent

Human cost of war

Maternity hospital damaged in separate attack on Kyiv, 7 killed, 3 injured. Russia launched another attack against Kyiv during the afternoon of July 8, damaging a maternity hospital and killing at least seven people, hours after a mass attack struck Ukraine’s largest children’s medical center.

Russian attack on Kryvyi Rih kills 10, injures 47. At least 10 people were killed, including six women and four men, Oleksandr Vilkul, the head of the city’s military administration, reported.

Russian attack on Dnipro kills 1, injures 12. Russia’s mass missile attack damaged a high-rise building in Dnipro and injured civilians, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Governor Serhii Lysak reported on July 8.

3 killed, 3 injured in Russian strike on Pokrovsk in Donetsk Oblast, governor says. The attack on Pokrovsk came amid a widespread series of Russian strikes across Ukraine, including Kyiv, Dnipro, Kryvyi Rih, and other cities.

International response

Western officials condemn Russian mass attack on Ukraine ahead of NATO summit. Ambassadors of Germany, Austria, and the U.S. condemned Russia’s mass morning attack against Ukraine on July 8 that killed nearly 30 people and wounded around 90 on the eve of the NATO Summit in Washington.

Germany announces new military aid package, including Patriot air defense system. The package will include ammunition for the Leopard 1 tank, 9,000 rounds of ammunition for anti-aircraft guns Gepard, 55,000 rounds of 155mm ammunition from German domestic stocks, as well as 58,000 rounds of 40mm ammunition.

Poland, Ukraine sign security agreement. President Volodymyr Zelensky added that the security agreement includes a provision to develop “a mechanism” for intercepting Russian missiles and drones in Ukraine’s airspace aimed at Poland.

Indian PM Modi arrives in Moscow in first visit to Russia since beginning of full-scale war. “Landed in Moscow. Looking forward to further deepening the special and privileged strategic partnership between our nations,” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on X. The trip coincided with a massive Russian missile strike on Kyiv and other cities across Ukraine that killed at least 28 civilians and injured 112 others.

In other news

Ukraine’s Svitolina advances to Wimbledon quarterfinals. Ukrainian tennis player Elina Svitolina reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals on July 8, defeating Wang Xinyu of China 6-2, 6-1. “Today is a tough day for the Ukrainian people. It was not easy to focus on the match today. So, I am happy I could play today and get a win,” Svitolina said.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Martin Fornusek, Elsa Court, Chris York, Oleksiy Sorokin, Kateryna Hodunova, Sonya Bandouil, and Olena Goncharova.

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