Condemning the daytime attacks, the UN's chief aid coordinator in Ukraine, Denise Brown, said several cities were hit, including the capital kyiv, Kryvyi Rih and Pokrovsk.
The attacks occurred “just as people were starting their day. Dozens of people were killed and injured,” said Brown, who reported extensive damage to a children's hospital in central kyiv.
'Unthinkable' attack on children
“It is inconceivable that children are dead and injured. “In this war, hospitals have special protection under international humanitarian law. Civilians must be protected,” he insisted.
The latest bloody event came after an alert from observers from the UN human rights office that in May the The highest number of civilian casualties caused by Russian attacks in almost a year.
According to the report of the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU), between 1 March and 31 May, at least 436 civilians were killed and 1,760 others were injured. The victims included six media workers, 26 health workers, five humanitarian workers and 28 emergency workers.
The UN report added that the majority (91 percent) of the casualties occurred in Ukrainian-controlled territory and nine percent in Russian-occupied territory.
In the same reporting period, Russian authorities reported that 91 civilians were killed and 455 injured in Russia as a result of attacks by Ukrainian armed forces, mainly in the Belgorod, Bryansk and Kursk regions.
More than 20 dead
At least 20 people were reportedly killed in Monday's strikes, while President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said more than 40 missiles had been fired.
In addition to the Ohmatdyt Children's Hospital in Kyiv, other public infrastructure, as well as commercial and residential buildings in cities such as Dnipro, Kramatorsk, Kryviy Rih, Kyi and Pokrovsk were also damaged.
