KYIV: Russian strikes on a hospital in the Ukrainian border city of Sumy killed nine people on Saturday, as President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned Moscow for “waging war on hospitals”.

Sumy lies just across the border from Russia’s Kursk region, where Kyiv launched a shock offensive on Aug 6, aimed in part at creating a “buffer zone” inside Russia. “Russia hit one of the city’s hospitals with Shahed drones,” Zelensky wrote on Telegram and regional authorities said the toll had risen to nine dead and 12 injured.

The attack comes as Zelensky is pressing Kyiv’s Western allies to allow the use of long-range precision weapons to strike deep inside Russia. “Everyone in the world who speaks about this war must pay attention to what Russia is targeting. They are waging war on hospitals, civilian objects, and people’s lives,” the president said. Ukrainian Prime Minister Shmygal said the attack was “more evidence of Russia’s war crimes”.

Zelensky posted photos of smoke pouring from windows above the destroyed entrance to the hospital, rescuers carrying patients down the stairs and treating two policemen lying on the ground.

On Saturday morning, three drones attacked the regional capital city and two hit the hospital, Ukraine’s air force said. A first strike was followed by another around an hour later on Saturday morning, officials said, apparently targeting the rescue operation to maximise casualties.

Published in Dawn, September 29th, 2024