What we know about the strike on Kyiv's paediatric hospital

What we know about the strike on Kyiv's paediatric hospital
by AFP Staff Writers
Kyiv, Ukraine (AFP) July 9, 2024

Rescuers cleared rubble at a children's hospital in Kyiv on Tuesday, a day after a Russian missile strike, as the Ukrainian capital observed a day of mourning.

Like similar attacks in the past, the Ukrainian government and the Kremlin gave conflicting versions of what happened.

Here's a rundown of what we know about the incident and the aftermath.

- What was hit -

The strike was part of a barrage that targeted cities across Ukraine on Monday morning, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who said 38 people were killed -- including four children -- and 190 wounded.

The cruise missile slammed into the Okhmatdyt children's hospital in Kyiv, Ukrainian officials said, leading the toxicology wing to collapse and damaging large portions of surrounding buildings that housed several different medical departments, according to AFP journalists at the scene.

"At the time of the attack, 627 children were in the hospital. Of these, eight were injured. Unfortunately, two adults were killed," said military authorities in Kyiv.

The hospital complex holds around 700 beds and oversees an estimated 10,000 surgeries a year.

Before the strike, medical staff halted operations after an air raid siren was activated and sent patients, family members, and others to the building's basement to seek shelter.

However, not all were able to evacuate.

According to a doctor at the scene, some children remained in the hospital's surgical theatres where operations had already commenced as moving them would have been difficult.

Seven other districts in Kyiv were also damaged by direct hits or debris from falling missiles, said the city's military administration.

Ten residents at an apartment block were killed during the onslaught in Kyiv's central Shevchenkivsky district, the mayor said.

Five medical staff and two patients also died at the Adonis fertility centre, the clinic said.

- The weapon -

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said its initial assessment found that Moscow had struck the facility with a Kh-101 strategic cruise missile.

A Western defence expert told AFP on condition of anonymity that an image of the attack "clearly shows a Kh-101 airborne cruise missile in its dive phase".

"The missile shows no signs of damage, and its dive angle is itself consistent with that observed in other strikes," the expert added.

Yohann Michel, an expert at Institute for Strategic and Defence Studies (IESD), echoed him.

"You'd have to check that the images haven't been altered, but on one of them you can clearly see a Kh-101 in perfect condition," he told AFP.

The strike was part of a wider barrage that focused on "different targets and used missiles with different trajectories and altitudes", Michel added.

- Russian response -

Russia said its forces had struck "intended" defence industry and military targets and blamed Ukrainian air defence missiles for the extensive damage on civilian targets.

"There's not one single piece of evidence that would support the claim of the Russian defence ministry," said Fabian Hoffmann -- a research fellow at the University of Oslo, who specialises in missile technology.

"We don't know what target the Russians put into their programme, we can't tell 100 percent," Hoffmann added, saying evidence indicated it was "a purposeful attack."

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, however, said Russia had not targeted civilian structures.

The United Nation disagreed, saying there was a "high likelihood" that the children's hospital suffered a direct hit from the Russian missile.

Targeting hospitals in Ukraine was a "war crime" added Joyce Msuya, acting under-secretary for humanitarian affairs at the UN.

"These incidents are part of a deeply concerning pattern of systemic attacks harming healthcare and other civilian infrastructure across Ukraine," said Msuya.