Prosecutor General of Ukraine Andriy Kostin called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague to hold Russia accountable for the rocket attack on the Kyiv Childrenʼs Hospital "Okhmatdyt".
He told Reuters about this.
Kostin said that the investigation is able to establish the pattern of Russiaʼs attacks and prove that the Russian Federation is committing crimes against humanity. "For the sake of international justice, cases like the deliberate attack on the largest childrenʼs hospital in Kyiv should be referred to the International Criminal Court," he noted.
The agency writes that the ICC does not publicly comment on which allegations it is investigating and which facts it is examining, but the Hague court has previously warned that it can prosecute anyone who may be behind attacks on civilian objects.
It is also known that representatives of the International Criminal Court were on the territory of the hospital after the attack and could collect evidence against the Russian Federation.
- "Okhmatdyt" is the largest childrenʼs hospital in Ukraine, where more than 20 thousand children are treated every year. On July 8, 2024, the Russian X-101 cruise missile completely destroyed the toxicology building and damaged four more. 10 surgical departments, five oncology departments, two somatic departments, intensive care, two intensive care units, operating units, radiology and radiation therapy departments, part of the oncology and hematology laboratory (the only one in the country) were affected. About 670 children and about a thousand employees were in the hospital at the time of the attack. They hid in basements, so large casualties were avoided. Two adults died (one of them is 30-year-old nephrologist Svitlana Lukyanchuk), and 32 people were injured. 8 children were hospitalized with various injuries.
- On the day of the attack on July 8, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation officially announced that the strikes on Ukraine were a response to attacks on Russian energy facilities. The agency claimed that the rockets hit the military industry and air bases, and the Ministry of Defense called the destruction of the Okhmatdyt hospital and the destruction of residential high-rise buildings "the hysteria of the Kyiv regime."
- Russian propaganda, federal channels and so-called warlords began to promote the version that the hospital was hit by an AIM-120 anti-aircraft missile of the NASAMS anti-aircraft complex or a missile from the American Patriot complex, which are protecting the capital.
- On the same day, the SBU reported that it had found fragments of a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile launched by Tu-95 and Tu-160 bombers on the territory of the hospital. On July 9 , the SBU showed new evidence of Russiaʼs involvement in the attack.
- Bellingcat investigators analyzed videos from social networks showing the moment of impact and the missile itself, conducted 3D modeling of the missile and came to an unequivocal conclusion — the hospital was hit by an X-101.
- The UN said that "Okhmatdyt" was most likely hit by a Russian missile. There they referred to their own analysis.