Ukraine foreign minister: Russia shelling hospital ‘beyond evil’

A Top Ukrainian official condemned the Russian shelling of a hospital amid the ongoing Russian military invasion of Ukraine, calling it “beyond evil.”

“Consider this: Putin has launched a massive war of aggression in Europe during a still raging pandemic. On top of that, Russians bomb Ukrainian hospitals now,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote in a tweet on Thursday. 

“This is beyond evil. The only moral choice any government can make now is to support Ukraine by all means,” Kuleba added. 

This comes as Ukrainian officials reported on Thursday that four people were killed when a Russian shell hit a hospital in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, NBC News reported 

Ukraine’s interior ministry said that at least 10 people, six of them doctors, were injured in the attack, according to NBC News. 

Putin announced early Thursday that Russia was launching a military operation in Ukraine 

In a televised address before the attack, Putin claimed the operation is aimed at protecting eastern Ukraine from what he called a “regime.” 

The Kremlin has been building up Russian forces along the Ukrainian border for weeks, as well as conducting joint military operations in Belarus.

The U.S. and its allies have condemned what President Biden described as an “unprovoked and unjustified attack” on Ukraine. On Thursday, Biden said the U.S. would sanction major Russian banks and impose export controls on Russia to curtail Russian high-tech imports as part of a coordinated effort to penalize Russia for its attacks.

European Union leaders have also said they would “impose massive and severe consequences on Russia for its actions” and that the sanctions would be “designed to take a heavy toll on the Kremlin’s ability to finance war.”

Russian citizens across the country have launched demonstrations against the invasion, despite receiving threats of arrests from the government. 

In the capital city of Moscow, authorities have arrested at least 600 people for showing their support for Ukraine and condemning Russia for conducting the invasion.