The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the Office of the Prosecutor General have identified and charged a Russian general responsible for ordering a missile strike on the Okhmatdyt National Children’s Hospital in Kyiv on 8 July 2024.
The strike, as videos demonstrate, was a deliberate direct missile hit at the hospital facility in the Kyiv city center.
Lieutenant General Sergey Kobilash, who was the commander of Long-Range Aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces at the time of the attack, has been notified of suspicion in absentia. Kobilash was promoted to commander of the Russian Air Force on 24 July 2024, shortly after the strike.
According to SBU Deputy Head Serhiy Naumiuk, the investigation revealed that on Kobilash’s orders, a Russian Tu-95MS bomber launched an X-101 cruise missile at the children’s hospital at 9:15 AM on 8 July. The missile was fired from the Saratov region of Russia, approximately 600 km from the Ukrainian border.
“The SBU, together with the Prosecutor General’s Office, has conducted extensive work. We interviewed 112 victims and 50 witnesses, conducted explosive, forensic, and other examinations, and analyzed video from surveillance cameras,” Naumiuk stated during a meeting with International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan and Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin.
The missile struck the intensive care unit of Okhmatdyt at around 10:45 AM, killing two civilians – a young doctor and the grandfather of a young patient. At least 34 people, including nine children, were injured. Over 600 children were in the hospital at the time of the attack.
Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin emphasized that missiles of this type are used to hit ground targets with pre-known coordinates, indicating the deliberate nature of the attack on the medical facility.
Kobilash is suspected of violating the laws and customs of war, combined with intentional murder, committed by a group of persons by prior conspiracy. The ICC had previously issued an arrest warrant for Kobilash in March 2024 for his involvement in attacks on civilian energy infrastructure in 2022-2023.
As the suspect is currently in Russia, “comprehensive measures are ongoing to bring him to justice for crimes against Ukraine,” the Security Service stated in its press release. The investigation is ongoing, with the Prosecutor General’s Office coordinating actions with the ICC Prosecutor’s Office to strengthen the case against Kobylash.
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