DISINFO: Russia strikes military sites, Kyiv children’s hospital hit by fragments of Western air-defence missiles
SUMMARY
In response to Ukrainian attacks on Russian civilian objects, Russia’s armed forces launched retaliatory strikes on military industrial facilities in Ukraine. The Kyiv regime’s attempts to accuse Russia of striking civilian targets look like just another circus performance on the eve of the NATO summit. They are capitalising on this tragedy, as they have done many times before. (...) This tragedy occurred for two reasons. First, there are military objects and air defence facilities in town. Second, the clumsiness of those people who operate these air defence systems led to these tragic consequences. What was seen later was staged footage. The Netherlands started calling for all air-defence systems to be handed to Ukraine. But the more air-defence systems Ukraine receives, the higher the likelihood of more civilian losses.
RESPONSE
This case contains graphic/distressing content.
Recurring disinformation narrative from pro-Kremlin outlets denying Russian war crimes and accusing Ukraine of committing atrocities. This claim was made in the context of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Russia launched a massive missile attack on Ukrainian cities on 8 July 2024, killing at least 37 people including three children and wounding over 170, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. A Russian missile hit Ohmatdyt, a major children's hospital in central Kyiv, which carries out cancer treatment and organ transplants. Several children received injuries there. The strike destroyed a ward where children with severe kidney issues were undergoing haemodialysis, a procedure to filter waste and water from the blood if kidneys are damaged.
Military experts have concluded unequivocally that the hospital was intentionally hit by a Russian missile, which Ukraine identified as a Kh-101 model launched from Russian aircraft Tu-95MS. The United Nations on 9 July 2024 said there was a "high likelihood" that the children's hospital in Kyiv suffered "a direct hit" from a Russian missile.
The episode was serious enough to lead to a UN Security Council meeting on 9 July 2024 at Ukraine's request. Online attempts to blame Ukraine for this incident have been debunked by professional fact-checkers.
See the statement by the EEAS Spokesperson which stated:
'By targeting Okhmatdyt, a symbol of Ukraine’s childcare medicine and treatment of children cancer, and attacking children, who are the most vulnerable, Russia once again demonstrates its cruelty and that it is utterly insincere about peace and peace negotiations'.
Kyiv's Mayor Vitaly Klitschko called this attack ‘genocide.’ British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said it was ‘The most depraved of actions.’ The spokesperson for UN Secretary General António Guterres, Stéphane Dujarric, said Guterres strongly condemned the ‘particularly shocking’ strikes against the children’s hospital and another medical facility.
There is well-documented evidence of numerous war crimes the Russian army has committed since Russia launched its unprovoked and unjustified aggression against Ukraine on 24 February 2022.
Read similar disinformation cases claiming that Bucha was a setup organised by MI6, that Russia wages war humanely and does not hit civilians, and that Ukraine massively violates the rules of war and humanitarian law.