Responding to the latest, particularly heavy Russian missile strikes that have killed dozens of civilians across Ukraine and hit major medical facilities in Kyiv, including five buildings of a children’s hospital, Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, said:
“The destruction of hospitals, as well as residential buildings and essential infrastructure are abhorrent, and any acts that target or disregard civilians must be unequivocally condemned. The evidence now widely available and some of it verified by Amnesty International experts, including videos of the strike that destroyed the Ohmatdyt children’s hospital in Kyiv, consistently suggests that the hospital was hit by an inbound Russian cruise missile. Russian attempts to put the blame on Ukrainian air defence display a callous audacity, which seeks to deflect from Russia’s responsibility for killing civilians and destroying medical facilities.
“The chilling images we have seen from the sites of two rounds of attacks in Kyiv today are a reminder of the cruelty of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. The number of civilians killed across the country is growing all the time, including in other missile strikes today, on Kryvyi Rih, Pokrovsk, Dnipro, Kramatorsk, and Slovyansk.
“These brutal acts will not stop until those committing crimes under international law know that they will be held individually responsible. This tragic day must serve as yet another urgent alarm for the entire international community, that immediate and effective action is needed for justice to be served.”
Background
According to Ukrainian authorities, Russia launched over 40 missiles against cities and towns across Ukraine earlier today.
At least 22 civilians were reportedly killed in Kyiv while as many as 72 were injured. In Kryvyi Rih, at least 10 civilians were killed and over 30 injured, and other casualties reported across the country.
The first missile strike to hit Kyiv destroyed a large part of Ohmatdyt, a major children’s hospital, damaging its five buildings. The follow-up strike demolished Isida, a separate private maternity hospital in Kyiv, killing at least seven people. As rubble is being cleared, the number of reported casualties is growing.
