Russian Strike on Kherson Children's Hospital Injures Nine, Including Four Children

KHERSON, Ukraine – A Russian artillery strike on a children's hospital in Kherson on October 29, 2025, injured nine people, including four children and three medical workers. The attack, which occurred around 9:20 a.m. local time while approximately 100 people were inside the facility, caused significant damage to the hospital building. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy swiftly condemned the incident, stating it was a "deliberate Russian attack specifically against children, against medical personnel, against basic guarantees of life in the community."

President Zelenskyy, in a social media post, accused Russia of being "the largest terrorist organization in the world" and asserted that Moscow "is not even ashamed to consider such facilities as targets." He further claimed that Russia is actively undermining diplomatic efforts and seeking to destabilize Europe to hinder assistance to Ukraine. The youngest wounded child from the Kherson attack was reported to be eight years old.

The strike comes amid ongoing, yet largely stalled, diplomatic initiatives to end the conflict. Recent efforts by US President Donald Trump to broker peace, including meetings with both Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Zelenskyy, have shown little progress. A planned summit between Trump and Putin in Hungary was postponed in late October 2025 due to significant disagreements, particularly Russia's refusal to agree to a ceasefire along current front lines.

In response to Russia's continued aggression and its perceived unwillingness to engage in meaningful negotiations, the United States announced new sanctions on October 22, 2025, targeting Rosneft and Lukoil, Russia's two largest oil companies. These measures followed similar sanctions imposed by the UK on October 15, 2025. President Zelenskyy welcomed these actions, emphasizing that "such measures must continue—to rein in Russia’s brazenness, deprive it of the means to prolong the war, and create a real motive for Moscow to end this war."

The attack on the Kherson hospital underscores the persistent threat to civilian infrastructure and lives in Ukraine. Despite international condemnation, Russian forces have continued to launch missile and drone attacks, with Ukrainian officials reporting a surge in the "audacity and scale" of these strikes throughout 2025.