Irish premier Simon Harris has called a Russian missile strike on a major children’s hospital in the Ukrainian capital a “despicable act.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said 38 people were killed and almost 200 more injured in an intense daytime barrage that hit cities across the country on Monday.

Rescue operations have stretched into a second day after what was Russia’s heaviest bombardment of Kyiv in almost four months and one of the deadliest of the war, hitting seven of the city’s 10 districts.

Speaking on his way into a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Mr Harris said the attack was “clearly a war crime.”

He said, “What we saw happen in Ukraine yesterday with the deliberate, horrific targeting of a children’s hospital is clearly a war crime.

“It’s clearly an act of brutality on a despicable scale, and it’s really important that just because the war in Ukraine is going on a long time, that we don’t in any way, shape or form allow Putin’s brutality, the illegalities, become in any way normalised.

“I think there’s an onus on every country to continue to speak up and speak out.”

Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, called the destruction of hospitals, residential buildings and other infrastructure “abhorrent.”

Ms Struthers said, “The evidence now widely available and some of it verified by Amnesty International experts, includes videos of the strike that destroyed the Ohmatdyt children’s hospital in Kyiv.

“It consistently suggests that the hospital was hit by an inbound Russian cruise missile. Russian attempts to put the blame on Ukrainian air defence display a callous audacity which seeks to deflect from Russia’s responsibility for killing civilians and destroying medical facilities.

“The chilling images we have seen from the sites of two rounds of attacks in Kyiv today are a reminder of the cruelty of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.”

Ms Struthers added, “This tragic day must serve as yet another urgent alarm for the entire international community that immediate and effective action is needed for justice to be served.” 

(dpa/NAN)