UN assessment suggests Kyiv children's hospital suffered direct hit by Russian missile
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Evidence from the scene of the children's hospital in Kyiv indicates "a high likelihood" of a direct hit by a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile on July 8, the U.N. Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMUN) said on July 9.
The Okhmatdyt hospital, Ukraine's largest children's medical center, was hit during a Russian missile attack on the morning of July 8, destroying one hospital building and damaging four others.
The attack killed two people, including a doctor, and wounded 32 others. Eight children were hospitalized.
According to the HRMMUN, more than 1,000 staff members and 670 children were at the hospital at the time of the attack.
"Analysis of the video footage and assessment made at the incident site indicates a high likelihood that the children's hospital suffered a direct hit rather than receiving damages due to an intercepted weapons system," said Danielle Bell, the head of the HRMMUN.
Bell said that video footage shows the technical specification of the type of weapon used and "shows the weapon directly impacting the hospital rather than being intercepted in the air."
A military expert also "visited the site yesterday and observed damages at the site that were consistent with a direct hit," Bell added.
The State Security Service of Ukraine said on July 8 that fragments of the rear body of a Kh-101 cruise missile with a serial number and part of the missile's rudder were found at the scene.
The State Security Service qualified the attack on the hospital "as a war crime and opened criminal proceedings based on this" and released another statement on July 9 after more parts of the missile were found at the site.
A law enforcement source also told the Kyiv Independent on July 8 that the missile aimed at the hospital in accordance with a programmed route.
"It (the missile) was not damaged by air defense systems and hit exactly the target it was programmed to hit," the source added.
