Tipsheet

Russia Denies Targeting a Ukrainian Children's Hospital. Instead It Blames Kyiv.

Jamie Parsons
Jamie Parsons  |  July 10, 2024 11:45 AM

Russia denies targeting and hitting a children’s hospital in Kyiv, claiming the destruction was caused by a Ukrainian air defense missile. 

In the capital of Ukraine, the Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital was hit by a missile amidst a Russian barrage. Ukraine officials and numerous news outlets claim the hospital was intentionally hit by a Russian missile; however, Russia’s Department of Defense claimed the hospital was not one of its targets, and the building was struck by a Ukrainian missile.

“Claims by representatives of the Kyiv regime alleging a purportedly deliberate Russian strike on civilian sites are absolutely not true,” Russia’s Department of Defense said in a statement.

The Russian military claimed the attack on July 8 was aimed toward destroying “military factories and airfields”–not a children's hospital– Russia Today reported.

CBS News analyzed video footage of the missile attack on the children’s hospital and reported seeing a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile “clearly” flying “toward the ground.” CBS News geolocated the video footage to confirm “it shows the strike on the hospital.” 

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"The factors suggesting that it was a direct hit are based on video footage which shows the technical specification of the type of weapon that was used; it shows the weapon directly impacting the hospital, rather than being intercepted in the air," Danielle Bell, head of the U.N. Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine said.

On the contrary, Russia’s Department of Defense said photos and video footage from Kyiv “clearly confirm” the destruction was caused by Ukraine's own air defense missile.

Ukraine’s military said it shot down 30 of around 40 Russian missiles on Monday morning, but Russian military officials question their claims, according to Russia Today. Moscow has previously said, “Kyiv exaggerates its interception rates,” and Russian military officials said Russia didn’t deploy as many missiles as Ukraine claims to have shot down.