The United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting on Tuesday to address the missile strike that destroyed part of Ukraine's largest children's hospital. The strike, which occurred the previous day, resulted in the tragic deaths of at least two hospital staff members.
Russia, despite facing accusations, denies responsibility for the attack on the hospital. The Security Council meeting, requested by France and Ecuador, was chaired by Russia's Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia, who faced a barrage of condemnations from fellow council members.
The strike on the Okhmatdyt children's hospital was part of a larger daytime barrage in multiple Ukrainian cities, including the capital Kyiv, resulting in the loss of at least 42 lives. The attack also damaged Ukraine's main specialist hospital for women and critical energy infrastructure.
Dr. Volodymyr Zhovnir, a cardiac surgeon and anesthesiologist, described the harrowing scene at Okhmatdyt, where both children and adults screamed and cried in fear and pain. Over 300 people were injured, including eight children, and two adults lost their lives, one of them a young doctor.
Acting U.N. humanitarian chief Joyce Msuya emphasized that intentionally targeting a hospital constitutes a war crime. She condemned Monday's strikes as part of a troubling pattern of systematic attacks on healthcare and civilian infrastructure across Ukraine since Russia's invasion in February 2022.
The Security Council members expressed shock and outrage at the strike, with some labeling it as 'cowardly depravity' and 'particularly intolerable.' Calls for Russia to withdraw its troops from Ukraine were reiterated, while China urged both sides to exercise restraint and engage in peace talks.
Despite Russia's denial of targeting civilian sites in Ukraine, evidence, including reports from the Associated Press, suggests otherwise. A U.N. team monitoring human rights in Ukraine indicated that the hospital was likely struck by a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile.
Ukrainian Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya presented evidence to the Security Council, including fragments of the missile and a map illustrating its path from Russian territory to the children's hospital. Kyslytsya condemned Russia for targeting vulnerable children with life-threatening illnesses.
The Security Council meeting highlighted the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Ukraine and the urgent need for a peaceful resolution to the conflict.
