Pellegrini: Kiev Attacks Don't Indicate Russia's Effort to Hold Talks

        Washington, July 9 (TASR) - President Peter Pellegrini on Tuesday, ahead of the start of the NATO summit in Washington, condemned the Russian missile strike on the largest children's hospital in Ukraine, expressing regret for the victims whose lives were claimed by the attack, TASR was told by the President Office's communication department on the same day.
        Ukraine claims that the Russian military hit Ohmatdyt Children's Hospital in Kiev - Ukraine's biggest paediatrics facility - with a Kh-101 strategic cruise missile on Monday (July 8). However, according to Russia's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, the hospital was hit by a Ukrainian NASAMS air defence missile. Monday's Russian attacks on the Ukrainian capital left at least 27 dead and 117 wounded.
        "This is a great tragedy and a great misfortune for all the victims, the injured and their families," said Pellegrini, commenting on the attack on the hospital. "Such attacks don't indicate Russia's desire to come to the negotiating table. But if we don't try to do so, the number of victims will grow not only on the frontline, but also among the civilian population, and Ukraine will be an increasingly decimated country from month to month," noted Pellegrini.
        The Slovak head of state reiterated that all-round assistance to Ukraine, in which Slovakia has been involved since the beginning of the war more than some large and economically powerful states, must go hand in hand with the efforts of the world community to reach a ceasefire.
        Pellegrini plans to meet his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Washington. The Slovak president says he will ask him about his vision for ending the conflict in Ukraine.