Russia attacks Ukraine’s largest children’s hospital

Russia targeted the premises of the Okhmatdyt National Children’s Specialized Hospital — Ukraine’s largest children’s hospital — during a massive attack on the morning of July 8. One building within the medical facility is partially destroyed, and the other sustained severe damage.

Rescue efforts are currently underway at the impact site, with around five hundred rescuers, law enforcement officers, and volunteers rushing to reach the basement of the collapsed building where children and medical staff had taken shelter. Time is of the essence, emphasized Minister of Internal Affairs Ihor Klymenko during a national 24/7 newscast.

Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital in Kyiv. One of the most important CHILDREN’S hospitals not only in Ukraine, but also in Europe. Okhmatdyt has been saving and restoring the health of thousands of children.

Now that the hospital has been damaged by a Russian strike, there are… pic.twitter.com/TmRlUmSBri

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) July 8, 2024

“Everyone is involved in this work… We have about 1 hour and 20 minutes to clear the rubble. Now heavy machinery is arriving to lift the reinforced concrete structures to free the basement after the bricks have been dismantled, because there were medical staff and children in the basement during the air raid,” Klymenko said.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized that Russia cannot claim ignorance about where its missiles are aimed and must be held fully accountable for all its crimes. “Now that a Russian strike has damaged the hospital, there are people under the rubble, and the exact number of casualties is still unknown. Everyone is helping to clear the rubble – doctors and ordinary people. It’s very important that the world doesn’t remain silent about this and that everyone sees what Russia is doing,” he stressed.

The Ukrainian community in Brazil has a longstanding partnership with the Okhmatdyt Hospital. Vitório Sorotiuk, President of the Ukrainian-Brazilian Central Representation (UBCR), condemned the attack and sent a letter of appeal to Brazil’s government.

“President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, on behalf of 600,000 Brazilians of Ukrainian descent, I would like to request Brazil to condemn the Russian missile attack on the Okhmatdyt Hospital in Kyiv, which occurred on July 8… Brazil has already condemned this aggression at the UN, which violates Article 2 of the Charter, but it is necessary to effectively stop the aggression,” Sorotiuk wrote.

During a repeated attack on the morning of July 8, wreckage from Russian missiles struck a medical center – a private maternity hospital – killing 4 people.

In total, wreckage has been reported falling in Kyiv’s Solomianskyi, Dniprovskyi, Darnytskyi, Desnianskyi, Shevchenkivskyi, and Holosiivskyi districts. Currently, there are 8 confirmed fatalities and 15 injured. “There are impacts on residential buildings in the Shevchenkivskyi district. Entrances are damaged. One is destroyed. Evacuation of residents is underway. Rescuers are working, we hear voices, people are trapped under rubble, we are doing everything to rescue them,” wrote Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko.

Russia has launched missile strikes on the city of Kryvyi Rih. “Currently, there are 10 fatalities – 6 women, 4 men. 41 wounded, including 9 in critical condition,” reported Oleksandr Vilkul, head of the Kryvyi Rih Defense Council. The attacks also targeted Dnipro, Sloviansk, and Kramatorsk. The occupiers used over 40 missiles of various types, causing damage to residential buildings and infrastructure.