Russia Ukraine war live news: Vladimir Putin’s missiles hit Dnipro hospital and vet clinic in deadly invasion offensive

At least one person was killed and 15 injured in a Russian missile attack on a clinic in the eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

He condemned the attack as a crime against humanity, and the Ukrainian Defense Ministry called it a serious war crime under the Geneva Conventions, which stipulate how soldiers and civilians should be treated in war.

Video footage showed a devastated building with smoke pouring out as emergency workers looked on. Much of the upper floor of what appeared to be a three-story building had been badly damaged, as had cars parked nearby.

“Another (Russian) missile attack, another crime against humanity,” Zelensky wrote on Twitter.

“The buildings of a psychology clinic and a veterinary clinic in the city of Dnipro were destroyed. So far, one person has been killed and 15 injured.”

Russia has denied repeated accusations that its soldiers have committed war crimes in Ukraine.

Ukrainian officials said earlier on Friday that air defenses had shot down 10 missiles and more than 20 drones fired by Russia during overnight attacks on the capital Kiev, Dnipro and the eastern regions.

Reuters could not verify the reports.

Russia, which launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine 15 months ago, did not immediately comment on the reported airstrikes but said Ukraine had struck two regions in southern Russia with a rocket and a drone.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Chinese Special Envoy Li Hui discussed prospects for resolving the conflict in Ukraine at a meeting in Moscow on Friday, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Li has been on a tour of European capitals including Kiev.

In a meeting with European Union officials in Brussels on Thursday, Li said China had always maintained an objective and fair position on the Ukrainian issue and actively promoted peace talks.

A Russian missile hit a clinic in the eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Friday, killing two people and injuring 30 in an attack that President Volodymyr Zelensky called a crime against humanity.

Video footage showed a devastated building with smoke pouring out as emergency workers looked on. A large portion of the upper floor of what appeared to be a three-story building had been badly damaged. A covered corpse lay in the road nearby.

“Another (Russian) missile attack, another crime against humanity,” Zelensky wrote on Twitter.

He said a psychological clinic and a veterinary clinic had been hit, adding: “Only an evil state can fight against clinics. There can be no military purpose to this. It is pure Russian terror.”

Regional governor Serhiy Lysak said a 69-year-old man had been killed as he passed the clinic and another man’s body had been pulled from the rubble.

He said 30 people had been injured, including two children, and that three people believed to have been in the building when it was hit had not yet been contacted.

Ukraine’s Defense Ministry called the attack a serious war crime under the Geneva Conventions, which stipulate how soldiers and civilians should be treated in war.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said it had carried out an attack on Ukrainian ammunition depots overnight.

“The goal of the strike has been achieved. All designated facilities were hit,” the RIA news agency quoted him as saying.

Moscow has dismissed accusations that its soldiers have committed war crimes and denies they deliberately targeted civilians even as they have bombarded cities across Ukraine since the invasion 15 months ago.

More than 500 companies have closed their operations Russiaand a similar number have withdrawn entirely.

Another 151 are “peeling back,” 175 are “buying time” and 230 are “digging in,” according to a database maintained by Yale University. Chinese companies feature prominently in the last category.

Here’s a look at some of the Western companies that have chosen to stay or leave Russia:

Sweden still hopes to be a member of NATO by the time of the alliance’s summit in Vilnius in July, Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström said on Friday.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine convinced Sweden and Finland last year to renounce long-standing military non-alignment and pursue security for NATO’s collective defense commitment.

Finland joined NATO last month, but Sweden’s membership has been held up by objections from Turkey and Hungary.

“There will be no plan B or anything like that. Plan B is plan A – that is full membership in NATO and that is what I and the government will work for all the way to Vilnius,” he told reporters.

Turks will vote in the second round of a close presidential election on Sunday, with incumbent Tayyip Erdogan leading the first ballot.

Billström said he hoped Turkey’s parliament would begin the ratification process after the dust settled.

“It is time for Turkey to start its ratification process and uphold its part of the settlement,” Billström said.

Sweden and Finland concluded a three-way agreement in Madrid last June to solve Turkey’s security problems.

But Ankara has continued to drag its heels over Sweden, saying Stockholm harbors members of militant groups it considers terrorists.

Hungary has also protested Sweden’s application, citing complaints about Swedish criticism of Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s record for democracy and the rule of law.

Billström said it was unclear what objections Budapest had to Sweden’s membership.

“Hungary gave its support at the summit in Madrid last year for Sweden to receive invitation status without any conditions,” he said. “It is our firm opinion that they should start ratifying.”

Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Friday it carried out an attack on Ukrainian ammunition depots overnight, the RIA news agency reported.

“The objective of the strike has been achieved. All designated facilities were hit,” the Ministry of Defense was quoted as saying.

The British Ministry of Defense has published a map showing the latest Russian attacks and troop locations in the Ukraine war.

Ukraine will not be able to join NATO as long as Russias invasion continues, the head of the alliance has said.

“Becoming a member in the middle of a war is not on the agenda,” Jens Stoltenberg said. “The question is what happens when the war ends.”

Last September, the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky announced a bid for fast-track NATO membership after Russia’s president Vladimir Putin proclaimed four partially occupied regions of Ukraine as annexed Russian land as part of Moscow’s invasion.

Since then, there have been plenty of platitudes from NATO members about how Ukraine belongs in the alliance, but little concrete action, with some Western allies in Kiev wary of moves that could push NATO toward active war with Russia.

Our foreign affairs editor Chris Stevenson reports:

An explosion that damaged a residential and office building in the southern Russian city of Krasnodar, east of Crimea, on Friday was caused by two drones, the region’s governor said.

“There is some damage to buildings, but critical infrastructure was not damaged. And most importantly, there were no casualties,” Governor Veniamin Kondratyev wrote on Telegram.