Today is a day of mourning for Ukraine after the Russian missile strikes which were one of the worst in recent months with at least 41 dead and 166 injured.

The main children’s hospital in the capital Kyiv was among the buildings affected.

Two people were killed when a rocket leveled part of the Ohmatdyt Children’s Hospital – Ukraine’s largest pediatric facility – and the search for survivors under the rubble continued into the early hours of Tuesday.

Elsewhere, the governor of Russia’s southern Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, said four people had been killed in Ukrainian raids in the past 24 hours.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the attack “brutal” and branded his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin a “bloodthirsty criminal”.

Russia on Monday denied targeting the Kiev hospital, saying it was hit by shrapnel from a Ukrainian air defense missile, while Ukraine said it found the remains of a Russian cruise missile.

World leaders allied to Ukraine condemned the attack, including the new British prime minister, Keir Starmer.

US President Joe Biden, calling the strikes a “horrific reminder of Russian brutality”, said he would soon announce additional support for Ukraine’s air defense systems.

Attack by Ukrainian drones – Four dead

At the same time, Ukrainian drones continue counterattacks. Airstrikes have killed at least four people in Belgorod, a region of southern Russia bordering Ukraine, in the past 24 hours, the region’s governor said, while the Defense Ministry in Moscow announced that 38 Ukrainian drones were shot down.

“These 24 hours have been very difficult for the Bielgorod region. Four people were killed (and) 20 were injured, 17 of which are still in medical centers, among them two in a serious condition,” Vychislav Gladkov clarified via Telegram.

The mayor of the regional capital of the same name said earlier that Ukrainian forces launched attacks overnight in various sectors.

“Ukrainian armed forces continue to attack communities in the Belgorod region,” Valentin Demidov said, also via Telegram.

Other Russian officials spoke of attacks in western Russia, particularly in the Kursk regions. Varonez, Rastov and Astrakhan.

“Air defense systems in service destroyed and intercepted three drones in the Belgorod region, seven drones in the Kursk region, two drones in the Varonezh region, 21 drones in the Rastov region and five drones in the Astrakhan region,” the Russian Defense Ministry said.

The governor of Astrakhan, Igor Babushkin, spoke via Telegram about a “massive” attempt to hit various targets with drones in the region, which he said was “successfully repelled”.