A Russian “war crime” that “shocked the world with its cruelty” and that “we, Ukrainian soldiers, will never forgive,” said the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces Oleksandr Syrsky. kyiv observes this Tuesday, July 9, a day of mourning in the wake of Russian strikes that left more than 30 dead and devastated the country’s largest pediatric hospital.
The toll could rise as searches continue through the rubble. L’Express takes stock of this attack.
What happened ?
Russia launched a wave of bombings on Ukraine on Monday, targeting in particular the Okhmatdyt children’s hospital. Two adults, including a female doctor and a visitor, were killed there, and 32 people were injured, Ukrainian authorities said after the end of the rescue operations on Tuesday morning. Of about 630 patients who were being treated in “one of the largest children’s hospitals in Europe” according to Volodymyr Zelensky, 94 were transferred to other medical centers in the capital, more than 465 had to return home and 68 remained in the buildings that were not hit by the attack, the Ukrainian Ministry of Health said.
In total, at least 31 people, including four children, were killed in kyiv, where Russian missiles and their debris hit, in addition to the Okhmatdyt hospital, a private clinic and residential buildings in several neighborhoods.
According to the Ukrainian security service, the SBU, a Russian cruise missile hit the Okhmatdyt children’s hospital. “Relevant evidence has already been found at the scene of the tragedy, in particular, fragments of the tail section of an X-101 missile with a serial number and a part of the rudder of the same missile,” the SBU said in a statement.
For its part, the Russian army denied responsibility, claiming that the hospital had been hit by debris from Ukrainian anti-aircraft missiles, without providing any evidence to support these claims.
According to the UN, it is “highly probable” that the attack was due to “a direct hit” from a Russian missile.
According to Danielle Bell, representative of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Ukraine, it is “highly likely” that the children’s hospital in kyiv was hit by a “direct hit” from a Russian missile. The latter, who stressed that a more thorough investigation would be necessary, but who based her analysis on video footage, mentioned a KH101 cruise missile “launched by the Russian Federation”.
“Analysis of the video footage and assessment at the scene of the incident indicate that it is highly likely that the children’s hospital suffered a direct hit rather than damage from an intercepted weapons system,” said Danielle Bell, speaking at one of the UN’s regular press briefings in Geneva. Enough to dismiss the Russian version, then.
Targeting hospitals in Ukraine constitutes a “war crime,” a senior UN official also said on Tuesday at an emergency Security Council meeting a day after deadly strikes attributed to Russia. “Intentionally launching attacks against a protected hospital (under international law, editor’s note) is a war crime for which the perpetrators must be held accountable,” said UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Joyce Msuya, noting “a worrying trend of systematic attacks on health-care facilities and other civilian infrastructure across Ukraine.”
“Barbaric”, “terrible”… many condemnations
The attack has sparked widespread reactions and condemnations in Western countries. The new UK Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, denounced “a horrific attack on Ukrainian civilians.” “The UK’s support for Ukraine is unwavering,” he added, assuring that “we must hold those responsible for Putin’s illegal war to account.”
The US State Department condemned “another barbaric missile attack targeting civilians”, saying it was a deliberate attack. Joe Biden denounced Russia’s “brutality” on Monday, promising “new measures to strengthen Ukraine’s air defenses”. All this on the eve of an important NATO summit in Washington, which Volodymyr Zelensky is due to attend.
“There are no words, documents or political statements that would suffice, on the one hand, to condemn the aggressor and, on the other hand, words that would suffice as signs of solidarity and assistance,” assured Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Monday, at the start of a joint press conference with the Ukrainian head of state.