Ukraine Reports Targeted Attack on Maternity Hospital by Russian Forces

Ukrainian authorities have reported a deliberate assault by Russian military forces on a maternity hospital located in the city of Sumy. According to Oleh Hryhorov, the head of the regional military administration in Sumy, the facility was housing 166 individuals at the time of the attack, including 11 children. Fortunately, all personnel and patients were in a designated shelter during the incident, leading to no casualties being reported thus far.

The attack resulted in significant damage, with the roof of the perinatal center catching fire, as confirmed by Andrij Jermak, the head of the Ukrainian president's office, via his Telegram account. Sumy, situated in northeastern Ukraine, has faced recurrent assaults amid ongoing tensions in the region.

In a related development, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that it had intercepted 251 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory and the annexed Crimean Peninsula during the night. Reports indicate that 61 drones were destroyed over the Black Sea, with one drone reportedly heading towards Moscow. Moscow's mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, stated that emergency response teams have been dispatched to the area where debris from the intercepted drone fell.

Additionally, the Belgorod region in Russia has experienced power outages following a Ukrainian strike, with regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov reporting that 5,400 residents were affected by partial power cuts in 24 localities. This incident follows a significant blackout that occurred in Belgorod at the end of September, attributed to a prior Ukrainian attack.

Ukrainian officials have also reported on various Russian strikes across their territories. The governor of Kharkiv, Oleh Synyehubov, mentioned that four individuals sustained injuries during these attacks, three of whom experienced acute stress reactions. The Ukrainian Air Force indicated that Russia launched an offensive involving 116 combat drones during the night, of which 86 were successfully intercepted. The strikes resulted in 30 impacts across seven different locations.

For over three and a half years, Ukraine has been engaged in a defensive response to the ongoing Russian invasion, which has included targeting various objectives within Russia, particularly in the Belgorod region. The extent of the damage and the toll on human life resulting from the Russian invasion far exceeds the consequences suffered by Russia from Ukrainian counterattacks.