US denounces alleged Russian missile attack on children's hospital in Kyiv
'We are sure it was a Russian attack,' says State Department; Russia denies claim
Emergency officials and civilians conduct search and rescue operations among the rubbles of Okhmatdyt Children's Hospital as it has been damaged after attacks, which caused deaths, injuries and damage on the various regions of the city in Kyiv, Ukraine on July 08, 2024
WASHINGTON
The US State Department strongly reacted Monday to a missile attack on a children's hospital in Ukraine’s capital, attributing blame to Russia and condemning the incident as a "pure" assault on civilian infrastructure.
"We are sure it was a Russian attack. We've seen Russia unleash another savage missile attack hitting civilians in Kyiv and other cities across Ukraine," said spokesman Matthew Miller during a press briefing.
"These are sites that serve no military purpose. They're not sheltering Ukrainian military assets. They're not sheltering members of the Ukrainian military. This is civilian infrastructure, pure and simple," said Miller.
"But once again, we've seen (Russian President Vladmir) Putin deliberately attacking civilian infrastructure as part of his bloody war against Ukraine," he added.
The UN Security Council will convene Tuesday to discuss Ukraine's claim of the strike on the children's hospital. Russia currently holds the Security Council term presidency.
Earlier Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of striking the children's hospital, which occurred on the eve of this week’s NATO summit in the US.
Russia’s Defense Ministry denied the claim.
