Bellingcat confirms Russian missile attack on Ohmatdyt Children’s Hospital

Bellingcat has confirmed that a Russian X-101 missile struck the Ohmatdyt Children’s Hospital in Kyiv on Monday, July 8. Journalists from the investigative team used open-source data, including video footage and photos of debris from the accident scene, to reach their conclusion.

The attack on the Ohmatdyt Children’s Hospital left at least two hospital staff dead and 16 others injured, including at least three children. However, the exact number of victims is not yet known.

The team compared a 3D model of the X-101 rocket with video footage of the rocket. Key identifying features, such as an engine in the tail section and two short wings in the middle, matched the features of the Russian X-101 rocket.

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In addition, Bellingcat analyzed photos of missile debris published by the Ukrainian intelligence service SBU. These photos showed fragments similar to the parts previously identified as belonging to the X-101 missile.

Bellingcat compared the images released by the SBU with photos and videos taken at the scene – including footage obtained by the Kyiv Post – and was able to indirectly geolocate the debris, confirming its proximity to the children’s hospital.

The article also addressed claims by Russian propagandists that the hospital was hit by an AIM-120 missile from an American NASAMS air defense system.

Jackson Hinkle, a political activist who appeared on Russian state media, was one of the people who made the false claim that the missile was of American origin.

Bellingcat showed that the AIM-120 lacks the tail assembly seen in the video and that the nose of the missile has a different shape than the missile in question.

“The claim that the missile was an AIM-120 ignores the engine that was clearly visible on the tail of the missile that hit the hospital. This highly visible feature is present on the Kh-101 but not on the AIM-120. In addition, the wings on the center section of the missile that hit the hospital do not match those of an AIM-120,” the Bellingcat release said.

Nevertheless, Bellingcat created a 3D model of an AIM-120 missile to test this theory. When compared to images of the missile that hit the hospital, several differences became apparent. The AIM-120’s front fins did not match, its tip was much pointier, and it lacked the engine that was visible at the rear of the missile in the video of the hospital impact.

On Monday, July 8, Russian forces launched a massive missile attack on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities at around 10 a.m. local time. The Ukrainian Armed Forces reported that 38 missiles were fired at Ukraine. Of the 13 X-101 missiles, the air defense forces managed to shoot down 11.

The State Emergency Service of Ukraine reported that 33 people, including four children, were killed and 121 people were injured, including ten children, in the shelling of Kyiv on July 8.

The attack on a hospital is considered a war crime.