On July 8, Russia launched a massive missile attack on Ukraine, including on the “Okhmatdit” children’s hospital in Kyiv. On the same day, the Russian Ministry of Defense issued an official statement, according to which civilian infrastructure was not the target of the Russian attack, and “numerous photos and video footage unequivocally confirm” that the destruction is the result of a Ukrainian air defense missile. The same assertion was repeated by the MoD of Russia in several other statements. The statement of the Ministry was actively covered by Russian propaganda media (1,2,3,4), including Russia Today, Ria Novosti. Kremlin media also actively covered pro-Russian American blogger Jackson Hinckley’s post on X that a children’s hospital was hit by a Ukrainian air defense missile (1,2,3,4,5,6,7). On July 9, the spokesperson of the Russian president, Dmitry Peskov, announced that the hospital was hit by a missile from the Ukrainian air defense system (1,2,3).
The claim that the Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital was damaged by a missile from the Ukrainian air defense system is false. According to the preliminary investigation of the Security Service of Ukraine and the assessment of the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission and the analysis of the Institute for the Study of War, the attack on the hospital was carried out by a Russian cruise missile.
According to the results of the preliminary investigation of the Security Service of Ukraine, an X-101 cruise missile was used for the attack on the hospital. According to the agency, relevant evidence was found at the site: fragments of the rear part of the Х-101 rocket with the serial number and part of the steering wheel of the same rocket. The agency also released photos of the rocket debris from the scene.
A video showing the moment of an attack on the hospital was also actively circulated on social networks.
According to the Institute for the Study of War, the video clearly shows the missile flying in a sharp downward trajectory before hitting the hospital. According to ISW, the trajectory of the missile and its engine match the silhouette of a Russian X-101 type missile, indicating that the missile was not launched by Ukraine’s air defense system. The video also indicates that the missile was not damaged before hitting the hospital.
The head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission, Danielle Bell, made a similar assessment and said that according to the mission’s analysis, the attack on the hospital was most likely the result of a direct attack by the Russian side.
Danielle Bell: “Analysis of the video footage and an assessment made at the incident site indicates a high likelihood that the children’s hospital suffered a direct hit rather than receiving damage due to an intercepted weapon system.”
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What other false claims were disseminated about the attack on the “Okhmatdit” children’s hospital in Kyiv?
The Center for Combating Disinformation of Ukraine (1,2,3) and the Institute for the Study of War have identified different narratives circulating in Kremlin sources regarding the attack on the hospital:
- Ukrainian soldiers are being treated in the children’s hospital/the hospital is actually a military hospital
- Military material was stored in the hospital
- An important strategic meeting was taking place on the territory of the hospital
- The hospital was specifically damaged by the Ukrainian Air Defense Forces in order to obtain Western funding for the continuation of the war
- The Russian target was the Artem plant, 1.6 kilometers from the hospital
The Institute for the Study of War points out that the widespread claims contradict the existing facts. Available information indicates that the hospital is strictly a civilian facility and was hit by a Russian X-101 missile as a result of a direct attack. In addition, the institute points out, the military hospital is not a legitimate target during the war, and the false narrative that the military was being treated in Okhmatdit or that it was a military hospital still cannot justify the Russian attack.
After the start of a full-scale invasion in Ukraine, the Russian side repeatedly evaded its responsibility for the casualties, for example, Kremlin sources denied the Bucha massacre and blamed Kyiv for the attack on the Olenivka prison.
Archive links: Ministry of Defense of Russia (1,2,3), Russia Today (1,2), Рен TV (1,2), Газета.ru. Взгляд, Регнум, РИА Новости (1,2,3), Россиская газета, Life.ru, Лента, Московский Комсамолец, Царград.
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