UN assessment: Ukrainian children’s hospital hit by Russian missile

A deadly attack on a children’s hospital in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv was probably caused by a direct hit from a Russian missile, the head of the UN human rights monitoring mission said on Tuesday, citing his own analysis.

The broad daylight attack was part of a series of attacks that killed at least 41 people, including children, across Ukraine.

The Kremlin said the hospital was hit by Ukrainian missile defense fire, not Russian.

“Analysis of the video footage and an on-site assessment indicate with a high degree of probability that the children’s hospital suffered a direct hit and was not damaged by an intercepted weapons system,” said Danielle Bell, head of mission of the UN human rights monitoring mission in Ukraine, at a press conference in Geneva via video link from Kyiv.

She added that while her team, which visited the site on Monday, could not make a definitive statement, it appeared that the missile was fired by the Russian Federation.

The center treats children with serious illnesses such as cancer and kidney disease. At the time of the attack, about 670 children were being treated as patients and about 1,000 people were employed there, Bell said.

“Staff had taken the children to a bunker yesterday morning when the air raid sirens went off, otherwise there would have been many more victims,” ​​she said.