Russian Missile Attack on Ukraine’s Largest Hospital Complicates Treatment of Kids With Cancer

File photo: A general view shows a shopping mall heavily damaged by a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Dnipro, Ukraine December 29, 2023. (Press service of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Dnipropetrovsk region/Handout via Reuters)
File photo: A general view shows a shopping mall heavily damaged by a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Dnipro, Ukraine December 29, 2023. (Press service of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Dnipropetrovsk region/Handout via Reuters)
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Russian Missile Attack on Ukraine’s Largest Hospital Complicates Treatment of Kids With Cancer

File photo: A general view shows a shopping mall heavily damaged by a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Dnipro, Ukraine December 29, 2023. (Press service of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Dnipropetrovsk region/Handout via Reuters)
File photo: A general view shows a shopping mall heavily damaged by a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Dnipro, Ukraine December 29, 2023. (Press service of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Dnipropetrovsk region/Handout via Reuters)

The National Cancer Institute in Kyiv was busier than usual after a Russian missile struck Ukraine’s largest children’s hospital this week, forcing the evacuation of dozens of its young patients battling cancer.
Russia’s heaviest bombardment of the Ukrainian capital in four months severely damaged Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital on Monday, terrorizing families and severely impacting their children already battling life-threatening diseases, The Associated Press said.
Now, some families face a dilemma of where to continue their children's treatment.
Oksana Halak only learned about her 2-year-old son Dmytro’s diagnosis — acute lymphoblastic leukemia — at the beginning of June. She immediately decided to have him treated at Okhmatdyt, “because it is one of the best hospitals in Europe.”
She and Dmytro were in the hospital for his treatment when sirens blared across the city. They couldn’t run to the shelter as the little boy was on an IV. “It is vitally important not to interrupt these IVs,” Halak said.
After the first explosions, nurses helped move them to another room without windows, which was safer.
“We felt a powerful blast wave. We felt the room shaking and the lights went out,” she recalled. “We understood that it was nearby, but we didn’t think it was at Okhmatdyt.”
Shortly after that, they were evacuated to the National Cancer Institute, and now Dmytro is one of 31 patients who, amid a difficult fight with cancer, have to adapt to a new hospital. With their arrival, the number of children being treated for cancer there has doubled.
Dmytro and the other patients were offered evacuation to hospitals abroad, and Halak wants his further treatment to be in Germany.
“We understand that with our situation, we cannot receive the help we should be getting, and we are forced to apply for evacuation abroad,” she said.
Other hospitals in the city that took in children for treatment faced a similar overcrowding situation after the shutdown of Okhmatdyt, where hundreds of children were being treated at the time of the attack.
“The destroyed Okhmatdyt is the pain of the entire nation,” said the director general of the National Cancer Institute, Olena Yefimenko.
Almost immediately after the attack, messages began circulating on social media networks to raise money for the hospital's restoration. Many parents whose children were treated there wrote messages of gratitude, saying their children survived due to the hospital's care despite difficult diagnoses. In just three days, Ukrainians and private businesses raised more than $7.3 million through the national fundraising platform UNITED24.
Work to rebuild the hospital is already underway. Okhmatdyt doctors balance their duties treating their young evacuated patients while working to get the children's hospital reopened. But even with resources and determination, that may take months.
Even so, Yuliia Vasylenko has already decided that her 11-year-old son, Denys, will remain in Kyiv for his cancer treatment.
The day of the attack the boy, diagnosed with multiple spinal cord tumors, was supposed to start chemotherapy. The strike delayed his treatment indefinitely, and Denys has to undergo additional examinations and tests, his mother said.
Denys was very scared during the strike, said his mother as she wheeled him around the National Cancer Institute in a wheelchair.
“The last days felt like an eternity," she said. Only now are they slowly recovering from the stress.
“If we go somewhere, with our diagnosis, we would have to retake all the tests from the beginning,” she said, adding that this could take three to four months.
“And we don’t know if we have that time,” she said.



Starmer Urges Putin to Prove He is Serious about Peace by Signing up to Ukraine Ceasefire

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Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks at a press conference following this morning's virtual summit video conference at 10 Downing Street in London, England, March 15, 2025. (Leon Neal/Pool Photo via AP)
1 of 11 Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks at a press conference following this morning's virtual summit video conference at 10 Downing Street in London, England, March 15, 2025. (Leon Neal/Pool Photo via AP)
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Starmer Urges Putin to Prove He is Serious about Peace by Signing up to Ukraine Ceasefire

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Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks at a press conference following this morning's virtual summit video conference at 10 Downing Street in London, England, March 15, 2025. (Leon Neal/Pool Photo via AP)
1 of 11 Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks at a press conference following this morning's virtual summit video conference at 10 Downing Street in London, England, March 15, 2025. (Leon Neal/Pool Photo via AP)

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Saturday urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to sign up to a ceasefire in its war against Ukraine if he is “serious about peace” and said allies will “keep the pressure” on the Kremlin, including financially and militarily.

At the end of a virtual meeting of what he has termed the “coalition of the willing,” Starmer said the Kremlin’s “dithering and delay” over US President Donald Trump’s ceasefire proposal, and Russia’s “continued barbaric attacks” on Ukraine, “run entirely counter” to Putin’s stated desire for peace.

“We agreed that now the ball was in Russia’s court, and President Putin must prove he is serious about peace and sign up to a ceasefire on equal terms,” the prime minister said.

Around 30 leaders were involved in the call, including European partners such as French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Also present were Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and leaders from Australia, Canada and New Zealand, as well as officials from NATO and the European Union’s executive.

Starmer convened the meeting, the second in two weeks, as a means of helping Ukraine in the face of a change of approach by the US, following the return of President Donald Trump, as well as gauging support for any future possible peacekeeping mission. Many more countries were involved this time than the previous meeting on March 2.

He said there was a “stronger collective resolve and new commitments were put on the table,” both in relation of the “coalition of the willing in terms of defending the deal” and also on the wider issue of the defense and security of Europe, The AP reported.

Troops in Ukraine to safeguard peace Starmer said all those attending had reaffirmed their commitment to Ukraine’s long-term security, and agreed that Ukraine "must be able to defend itself and deter future Russian aggression."

He added that “robust and credible security arrangements” are the best way to ensure lasting peace in Ukraine, and said military planners would convene again in the U.K. this week to progress practical plans to support Ukraine’s future security.

Without providing precise details, Starmer again said the allies were ready to put troops into Ukraine in order to safeguard the peace after any ceasefire. The UK and France have been working to get Ukraine’s allies to provide troops, weapons or other aid to a European military force that could be deployed to reassure Ukraine and deter Russia from attacking again.

“We will build up Ukraine’s own defenses and armed forces, and be ready to deploy as a ‘coalition of the willing’ in the event of a peace deal, to help secure Ukraine on the land, at sea, and in the sky,” he added.

Ceasefire without conditions The meeting took place in the wake of a US proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine, which Zelenskyy has backed. Putin has indicated that he supports a truce in principle but has set out a host of details that need to be clarified before agreeing to a ceasefire.

Starmer said Zelenskyy's backing for an unconditional ceasefire shows that Ukraine is the “party of peace”.

Zelenskyy emerged from the meeting calling for strengthened sanctions to pressure Russia into accepting a ceasefire without conditions that could pave the way for a peace deal. In a series of posts on X, he said “Moscow understands one language” and that a 30-day ceasefire “without killings” would create a window in which “it would truly be possible to negotiate all aspects of a real peace.”

He also said it wasn't up to Putin who is stationed in Ukraine after any peace agreement as he gave his backing to a European contingent on the ground with an American “backstop."

"If Putin wants to bring some foreign contingent onto Russia’s territory, that’s his business. But it is not his business to decide anything about Ukraine’s and Europe’s security,” Zelenskyy said.

‘Good vibes coming out of Russia’ The United States has shifted its approach on the war since the return of Trump to the White House. The change of approach relative to that taken by President Joe Biden became particularly notable after Trump clashed with Zelenskyy on Feb. 28 in the Oval Office.

Starmer has taken the lead, along with Macron, in assembling the “coalition of the willing,” in part to persuade Trump to maintain support for Kyiv. One outcome has already been a growing acceptance from European countries in particular that they need to do more to ensure their own security, including by increasing their defense spending.

Trump voiced optimism Friday that Putin, who met with US envoy Steve Witkoff earlier in the week, will back a ceasefire.

“I'm getting from the standpoint about a ceasefire and ultimately a deal some pretty good vibes coming out of Russia,” he said.

Ukraine, under severe military pressure on parts of the front line three years after Russia’s full-scale invasion, has already endorsed the truce proposal. Russia’s army has gained battlefield momentum, and analysts say Putin likely will be reluctant to rush into a ceasefire while he feels he has an advantage.

“The world is watching,” Starmer said. "My feeling is that sooner or later he is going to have to come to the table and engage in serious discussions.”