A Ukrainian group from Bolton has launched a campaign to raise £2m for a bombed children's hospital. 

The Bolton branch of the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain has set the fundraiser in motion after a Russian air strike on the Okhmatdyt children's hospital in Kyiv last week. 

The attack, which took place on July 8, was part of an intense daytime bombardment on multiple cities. The death toll across the five attacks is judged to have been 42 people. 

The strike on the hospital, which interrupted open-heart surgery and forced young cancer patients to have their treatments outdoors, drew an international outcry. 

Now, Bolton-based Ukrainians are taking a stand. 

Bolton Branch Chair of the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain, Yaroslaw Tymchyshyn, said: "With the current situation regarding the hospital in Kyiv, we Ukrainians in the Western world have the power to do something about it. 

We have begun a financial appeal to raise £2m to rebuild and re-equip the hospital.We have begun a financial appeal to raise £2m to rebuild and re-equip the hospital. (Image: NQ)

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"Anyone wishing to donate cash can do so at our centre on Castle Street from 2.30pm any day." 

Any cheques should be made out to AUGB BOLTON BRANCH, and any bank transfers should be sent to sort code 01-01-42 and account number 26160048, and to use reference 'Ohmat'. 

The attack was Russia’s heaviest bombardment of Kyiv in almost four months and one of the deadliest of the war, hitting seven of the city’s 10 districts. 

The 10-storey hospital, which is Ukraine’s largest medical facility for children, was caring for 670 patients at the time of the attack, Okhmatdyt’s director general Volodymyr Zhovnir said last week. 

The missile hit a two-storey wing of the hospital. 

Mr Zhovnir said: "The building where we conducted dialysis for children with kidney failure or acute intoxication is ruined entirely." 

He estimated the overall damage to the hospital at 2.5 million dollars.