Ukraine identifies Russian general suspected of ordering strike on Kyiv children's hospital
Ukrainian authorities on Sept. 10 announced war crime charges in absentia against Russian Lieutenant General Sergey Kobylash over a deadly strike against the Ohkmadyt children's hospital in Kyiv two months ago.
Russian forces hit Ukraine's largest children's medical center on July 8, killing two adults and injuring at least 34 people, including nine children. Footage showed that the building suffered a direct hit by a Russian missile rather than being damaged by fallen debris.
Kobylash, who at the time served as Russia's long-range aviation commander, ordered the missile strike that hit the hospital, according to an investigation published by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the Prosecutor General's Office.
The general already faces other charges connected to the full-scale war in Ukraine, and the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant for his arrest for attacks against Ukraine's energy infrastructure.
"The investigation established that it was him (Kobylash), who, on July 8, 2024... gave the order to a unit under his command to carry out a strike from the Tu-95MS bomber plane with a cruise missile Kh-101 against the Okhmadyt hospital's premises," Prosecutor General Andrii Kostin said on Sept. 10 while speaking at the site of the attack.
Kobylash gave the order at around 9:15 a.m., while the hospital was struck at 10:45 a.m., the SBU clarified.
"As part of the investigation, the SBU and the Prosecutor General's Office... talked to 112 victims and 50 eyewitnesses, conducted explosive, forensic, and other examinations, and analyzed video surveillance footage," SBU deputy head Serhii Naumiuk said.
The missile, fired from a plane of the 22nd Guards Heavy Bomber Aviation Division, kept maneuvering and changing its flight path, indicating an intention to bypass Ukrainian air defenses and hit the medical facility, the SBU said.
The SBU charged Kobylash last January over "massive rocket attacks on residential buildings, hospitals, and critical infrastructure facilities in various regions of Ukraine."
In March 2024, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Kobylash and Russian Admiral Viktor Sokolov for ordering strikes against the Ukrainian electricity infrastructure during the winter of 2022 to 2023, which led to extensive blackouts across the country.
Martin Fornusek
