FILE PHOTO: Ukrainian Minister of Internal Affairs Ihor Klymenko attends 'Ukraine. Year 2024' conference, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine February 25, 2024. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko/File Photo
KYIV (Reuters) -Russian forces hit a medical center in Sumy in northeastern Ukraine on Saturday morning then struck again as the building was being evacuated, killing a total of seven people, Ukrainian officials said.
Ukrainian media said that at the time of the attacks, 86 patients and 38 staff members were in the hospital.
"The first attack killed one person and damaged the ceilings of several floors of the hospital. The evacuation of patients and staff began," Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said on Telegram.
As people were being evacuated, the Russians struck again, killing a further five people, he said.
The Sumy regional administration later said seven people were killed and 12 injured.
Klymenko did not specify what weapons were used in Saturday's attacks but the regional administration said the strike was carried out by drones.
Attacks on Sumy city and the Sumy region have become much more frequent since Ukrainian forces launched an operation in Russia's Kursk region in August and captured dozens of settlements.
Sumy city is located just 32 km (20 miles) from the Russian border and Russian forces have been attacking the region and the city with drones and guided bombs.
Ukrainian air forces earlier on Saturday said its troops had shot down 69 of 73 drones during an overnight Russian attack that included two ballistic and two cruise missiles.
About 15 Russian attack drones were destroyed by air defences in the capital Kyiv and on its outskirts, the military administration there said.
(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
