Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin said that the attack on the “Okhmatdyt” Childrenʼs Hospital in Kyiv was commanded by a Russian lieutenant general, commander of the Russian Air Force. He did not mention the name, but it follows from the description that it is about Sergei Kobylash.
The investigation established that on July 8, 2024, Sergei Kobylash ordered his subordinate units to hit the premises of the “Okhmatdyt” hospital with an Kh-101 cruise missile from a Tu-95 MS missile carrier-bomber. This led to the death of two civilians — a doctor and the patientʼs grandfather, and at least 34 people were injured, including nine children.
He was informed in absentia of the suspicion under Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — violation of the laws and customs of war, combined with premeditated murder, with a prior conspiracy. The maximum penalty is life imprisonment.
The Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court is already investigating the proceedings against this general. On March 5, 2024, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Sergei Kobylash .
In November 2023, Ukrainian law enforcement officers reported that Kobylash was suspected of shelling Uman in the Cherkasy region on April 28, 2023. At least 23 people died then. Kobylash is also responsible for the bombing of densely populated areas of Mariupol and other massive attacks by Russian aircraft. In July 2024, Russian general Kobylash was charged with shelling Odesa, which killed eight people, including a little girl, her mother and grandmother, as well as a pregnant woman.
Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Karim Khan also visited the site of the Russian attack on "Okhmatdyt" today. He communicated with a victim of enemy shelling.
- "Okhmatdyt" is the largest childrenʼs hospital in Ukraine, where more than 20 thousand children are treated every year. On July 8, 2024, a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile completely destroyed the toxicology building and damaged several others.