On the morning of 8 July, the Russian Federation launched a series of regular missile attacks on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine. Kyiv, Dnipro, Kryvyi Rih, Sloviansk, and Kramatorsk came under attack. About 40 missiles of various types were fired from the territory of the Russian Federation. Some of them hit their targets, causing damage to residential buildings, civilian infrastructure and children's hospitals.
According to the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, as of 19.00, 22 people were killed and 74 others were injured in Kyiv. In total, 33 people have been killed and 140 others wounded in Ukraine as a result of the hostile attack. Unfortunately, the number of victims may increase as rescue operations are still ongoing.
One of the targets hit by the Russian army was the OKHMATDYT children's hospital in Kyiv. SBU investigators claim that the attack was carried out with an X-101 missile.
"OKHMATDYT is a multidisciplinary diagnostic and treatment facility in Kyiv that provides specialised, highly qualified medical care to children from all over Ukraine. It is the largest specialised children's hospital in the country, known not only in Ukraine but also in Europe. About nine thousand operations are performed here every year. Since the first days of the large-scale invasion, the hospital's buildings have been a haven for patients and staff.
As a result of the Russian strike, the facility has suffered significant damage. People are trapped under the rubble, and the exact number of injured and dead is being determined. At least two medical staff members of the facility were killed. Rescue operations are ongoing.
The missile strike also damaged the ISIDA obstetric and gynaecological clinic in Kyiv. The clinic specialises in infertility treatment, obstetrics, gynaecology, mammology and paediatrics. So far, seven people have been reported dead and three injured. The building is partially destroyed, and the rubble is being cleared and people are being searched for.
Attacks on medical facilities constitute a war crime and a gross violation of international humanitarian law. This is also a typical tactic of the Russian army, which was regularly used during the wars in Chechnya and Syria. The armed aggression against Ukraine is no exception. Over the two years of the full-scale war, Russia has damaged or destroyed 1,736 medical facilities in Ukraine. One of the most famous tragic examples was the shelling of a maternity hospital in the city of Mariupol on 9 March 2022, which killed and injured at least 39 people.
To date, the presidents of Poland, the Czech Republic, Moldova, and the prime ministers of the United Kingdom and Estonia have condemned the Russian Federation's attack on children's hospitals. In turn, Ukraine has initiated the convening of an extraordinary meeting of the UN Security Council, which is currently chaired by Russia. The Security Service of Ukraine opened a criminal investigation, classifying the shelling of hospitals as a violation of the laws and customs of war.
However, neither international condemnation nor the convening of a meeting of any treaty bodies is sufficient to stop the destruction of civilian infrastructure, including medical facilities in Ukraine, and to ensure accountability for those responsible for these attacks.
We therefore call on the international community to
- intensify efforts to provide Ukraine with effective air defence systems in sufficient numbers and timely, as well as other military support to effectively defend against Russian attacks and generally to enable Ukraine to exercise its right to self-defence in accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter;
- introduce more effective sectoral sanctions against various sectors of the Russian economy that provide the financial basis for the aggressive war against Ukraine;
- impose sanctions against those economic entities from around the world that allow the aggressor state to circumvent existing restrictions.
We appeal to the International Criminal Court not to limit the timeframe of the investigation into the shelling of critical infrastructure on 9 March 2023. Today's brutal attack demonstrates that the Russian Federation continues to target civilian objects. Given the recent personnel changes in the military leadership of the Russian Federation, we emphasise the need for new arrest warrants not only for the military command, but also for the senior political leadership of the Russian Federation.
We call on international organisations, in particular the UN Commission of Inquiry, to properly document today's criminal shelling of civilian targets, including the OKHMATDYT children's hospital and the ISIDA clinic.
We call on the international community, in particular the members of the Core Group, to establish an accountability mechanism with a mandate to bring to justice all perpetrators of today's most serious international crimes. These crimes include the crime of aggression, war crimes and crimes against humanity. This mechanism should help to strengthen the capacity of the national law enforcement system to deliver quality and effective justice.
We call on the government of Ukraine to improve national legislation as a matter of priority to ensure a high-quality investigation into the actions of the military and political leadership of the Russian Federation that led to this latest tragedy. We believe that the ratification of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court is an urgent need. This document will be the basis for ensuring the inevitability of accountability for war crimes.
08.07.2024
