An emergency meeting of UN Security Council has taken place due to a massive Russian attack on the largest Ukrainian children’s hospital, Okhmatdyt. The meeting was convened at the request of the UK, Ecuador, Slovenia, the USA and France.
Russia committed another barbaric act against civilian infrastructure of Ukraine, which led to numerous casualties and destruction. It demonstrated its complete disregard for international law and humanitarian norms, which requires stronger involvement of the international community.
It is already known that 40 people were killed (four of them – children), and about 190 were injured as a result of the Russian missile attack on Ukraine on July 8, 2024. In Kyiv alone, 64 people were hospitalized. These figures will increase, as rescue workers continued to remove rubble. Some survivors are in critical condition. More than 100 capital infrastructure facilities were damaged, most of them are a children’s hospital, maternity hospital, kindergartens, business center and residential buildings.
Moscow deliberately and ruthlessly chose the time of the shelling — 10 am, when there are many people on the streets of Kyiv, especially in the city center. Monday is usually a day for patients, so the hospital was busy. At that time, there were more than 650 small patients and about the same number of employees at the Okhmatdyt pediatric hospital. This terrorist act proved that Russia is deliberately attacking civilians, hitting the most vulnerable and humanitarian targets. Among the dead was a young nephrologist, as well as relatives of small patients! Unique medical equipment and laboratories have been destroyed, which significantly complicates the treatment of Ukrainian children.
A new level of Russian cynicism! After all, sick Ukrainian children, their families and doctors were under attack. Russia knew exactly where its missiles were aimed, and it must be punished for all its crimes. Such actions of the Russian Federation are a gross violation of the Geneva Conventions, which prohibit attacks on medical facilities.
Five buildings of the medical institution were destroyed (in particular, the newest one, which was launched during a full-scale war). One of the buildings were collapsed — it was destroyed to the ground. In addition, the building of the Center for Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery was damaged. The toxicology, oncohematology, oncology, and traumatology surgery departments were destroyed or significantly damaged. The names of the departments suggest how important medical care is for the children treated there. During the attack, three surgeries were carried out in the hospital; the windows in the operating rooms were blown up by the explosion, and medical equipment was damaged and destroyed. One of the small patients who was on the operating table was injured in the chest by glass fragments, and now doctors are fighting for his life in another clinic.
“Directing attacks against civilians and civilian objects is prohibited by international humanitarian law, and any such attacks are unacceptable and must end immediately,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said.
The Russian missile deliberately targeted the Okhmatdyt hospital! The analysis of videos filmed by eyewitnesses of the attack and the nature of the damage is the confirmation of this. Russian propagandists’ statements that the strike was carried out by another missile do not hold water. The Kremlin is using photography retouching to justify the attack, but the facts speak for themselves. Modern technologies allow you to study any image in detail. Analysis of the video shows that the hospital was the true target of the missile attack. The nature of the explosion, its power and the scale of destruction confirm the intention to attack the hospital with a powerful missile warhead. The Russian leadership and military specialists surely knew the coordinates of hospitals, especially those located in the city center. Moreover, it is the well-known medical institution outside Ukraine. Each story about an accidental hit look unbelievable. Allegedly shrapnel or Ukrainian missile which hit the hospital is banal and poor defense for Russian actions. Russian propagandists are trying to misinform the public by claiming that Russia planned to attack the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. However, the evidence is actually the other way.
On the eve of the NATO Summit, Russia is demonstrating the lack of willingness to end the war, but a desire to seize Ukraine and threaten any country in the North Atlantic Alliance.
The Russian Federation, which has carried out the most large-scale aggression since World War II, should not be represented in the UN, not to mention the veto right inherited from the USSR. The war crimes and systematic violation of international law makes Russia’s participation in the UN nonsense. The international community must expell Russia from the UN and deprive it of its veto right. This tragedy once again confirms the need to strengthen international support for Ukraine and bring to justice all those responsible for these war crimes.