Russian double-tap attack on Sumy hospital kills 9, injures 12, officials say

Russian forces launched a double-tap strike on a hospital in the northeastern city of Sumy, killing nine people and injuring 12, Ukrainian officials said on Sept. 28.

The initial attack claimed one life and caused extensive damage to several floors of the hospital, according to Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko. The second strike hit as rescuers and police arrived to evacuate patients to safety. Klymenko said in a Telegram post that among the killed victims and the wounded were two policemen.

The regional military administration reported at around 8:30 a.m. local time that Russian troops targeted the healthcare facility with an airstrike and  Iranian-made Shahed drones. About 10 minutes later, the Air Force confirmed that Russian forces had also conducted a powerful KAB-guided bomb attack in Sumy Oblast.

Expressing condolences for the loved ones of the victims killed in the attack in which Russia used Shahed drones to strike a hospital, President Volodymyr Zelensky said, "We are doing everything we can to provide our people with the help they need."

"Everyone in the world who talks about this war should pay attention to where Russia is hitting," Zelensky said, adding that 113 patients were evacuated from the Sumy hospital. "They are fighting hospitals, civilian objects, and people's lives."

"Only force can force Russia to peace. Peace through strength is the only right way. I thank everyone who helps us on this path."

In his Sept. 28 update, Klymenko noted it was the second consecutive day that Ukrainian police had suffered casualties. He added that search efforts were ongoing in Kryvyi Rih, where another worker might still be trapped beneath the rubble.

For more than two years, Russia has indiscriminately attacked civilian infrastructure across Ukraine, striking hospitals, schools, and residential buildings in a campaign seemingly designed to erode the nation’s morale.

Since Ukraine's surprise cross-border operation into Russia’s Kursk Oblast in August, launched from Sumy Oblast, the fighting has intensified around Sumy. The region had seen relative calm following Russia’s withdrawal in the early months of the full-scale invasion.

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The Kyiv IndependentNate Ostiller