Russian propagandists blame Kyiv for Kremlin’s deadly strike on children’s hospital

Ukrainian military expert Oleksandr Kovalenko has analyzed Russian propaganda messages after the terrorist attack on the largest children’s hospital of Ukraine.

At first, the Russian invaders claimed their strike on the Okhmadyt children's hospital in Kyiv was due to an alleged military meeting taking place there.

“So they openly admit that the attack on the children's clinic was targeted and justify it with a “meeting” claim… Seriously?

Let me recall that when two weeks ago, Kharkiv was attacked with glide bombs, Russian media platforms openly stated that the hospital was actually their target... Meanwhile, hospitals are protected by the Geneva Convention, which states that such facilities and their personnel operating in war zones shall be protected,” Kovalenko pointed out. 

He adds that the Russians are, in fact, openly stating they are deliberately attacking civilian targets protected by the Geneva Convention.

Later in the day, the Russian propagandists, seeing the impact of their crime, turned on the other classic narrative, claiming the missile was shot down by Ukrainian air defense so it hit the hospital.  

Ukrainians took to social media to publish the footage, which confirms that there was no shoot-down.

“The missile just plunges directly onto the children's hospital building.  A targeted attack by a Kh-101 missile on a children's hospital,” Kovalenko wrote on Telegram.

In the evening, Russian propagandists decided to play experts, claiming that the children's hospital was hit by a Ukrainian Patriot PAC-3 surface-to-air missile! 

And this despite the fact that a video of the strike is widely circulated, while a number of Russian specialized platforms across social media openly stated that the facility had been hit by a Russian Kh-101. 

“Just look closely at the missile seen in the video, especially pay attention to its tail unit and the R95-300 turbojet engine located there. Now, let’s compare this with the Patriot PAC-3, NASAMS AIM-120A, and Kh-101/555 missiles. 

Here's a question for experts: what type of missiles is totally similar to what we see there?  Especially the tail part with the turbojet engine,” Kovalenko concluded.

• Defense Express military expert Valerii Riabykh said that the Kh-101 missile contained the coordinates of the Okhmatdyt children's hospital in Kyiv. “The Kh-101 missile flew at an ultra-low altitude and before hitting the Okhmatdyt, where Russian terrorists had laid down specific coordinates, it ascended and hit the hospital. To bypass Ukrainian air defense systems, the missile could have used thermal radar traps,” he explained.