Russian Strikes on Sumy Medical Center Kill Nine, Injure Twenty

Russian forces targeted a medical center in Sumy, northeastern Ukraine, on Saturday morning. The building was hit twice, causing nine fatalities and injuring twenty others. Following the attacks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy condemned Russia for targeting civilian infrastructures and urged for peace enforced by force.

Russian forces hit a medical center in Sumy in northeastern Ukraine on Saturday morning, then struck again as the building was being evacuated, killing nine people and injuring 20 others, Ukrainian officials reported.

Ukrainian prosecutors stated that at the time of the attacks, 86 patients and 38 staff members were in the hospital. Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said on Telegram, "The first attack killed one person and damaged the ceilings of several floors of the hospital."

During the evacuation process, Russian forces executed a second strike, causing the deaths of five more people, according to Klymenko. The State Emergency Service of Ukraine reported on Facebook that nine people, including a national police employee, were killed, and 20 others sustained injuries.

"Everyone in the world who talks about this war should pay attention to where Russia is hitting. They are fighting hospitals, civilian objects, and people's lives," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy stated on Telegram. "Only force can force Russia to peace. Peace through force is the only right way."

Klymenko did not clarify the weapons used in the attacks, but the regional administration and air forces indicated the strikes were carried out by drones. Since Ukrainian forces launched an operation in Russia's Kursk region and captured dozens of settlements in August, attacks on Sumy city and the Sumy region have increased significantly.

Located 32 km (20 miles) from the Russian border, Sumy city has been frequently attacked by Russian forces using drones and guided bombs since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022. Ukraine's air force announced earlier on Saturday that they had intercepted and shot down 69 out of 73 drones during an overnight Russian attack, which also included two ballistic and two cruise missiles.

In Kyiv and its outskirts, about 15 Russian attack drones were destroyed by air defenses, according to the capital's military administration.

(With inputs from agencies.)