Ukraine blames Russian air force commander for children’s hospital attack

Russia’s Sergei Kobylash is named as a suspect in the July 8 attack on Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital in Kyiv.

A Russian air force commander is suspected of ordering a deadly missile strike on a Ukrainian children’s hospital in July, according to Ukraine’s prosecutor general.

The Russian commander directed forces to fire an air-launched cruise missile on the morning of the July 8 strike, Ukrainian Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin said at a news conference on Tuesday.

In a post on Telegram, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) named the commander as Lieutenant General Sergei Kobylash.

The attack on the Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital in Kyiv killed two people and injured 16 while wrecking much of the facility, including collapsing the roof of its toxicology department, where children receive dialysis.

After the attack, Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko accused Russia of trying to wipe out Ukraine’s population.

“Right now, the whole world can see how Russian missiles and kamikaze drones killed Ukrainian citizens in our peaceful city,” he said at the time.

‘Investigation continuing’

While Kostin did not directly identify the Russian commander suspected in the strike, the SBU named Kobylash, chief of Russia’s long-range aviation forces at the time of the attack.

Kobylash is already wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged war crimes, including ordering strikes on Ukraine’s energy systems.

ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan, who also attended Tuesday’s news conference, did not single out Kobylash but joined Kostin in saying a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile was the likely projectile used in the hospital attack.

“It does seem from a number of sources and the work that’s been done that a missile, a Kh-101 cruise missile, has been identified,” Khan said. “A number of factors have to be looked into further.”

Kostin added: “We are continuing the investigation to find other people responsible for the strike on Okhmatdyt.”

Russia denies committing war crimes in Ukraine and says it does not target civilians. It has dismissed ICC war crime arrest warrants as part of a biased Western campaign to discredit Russia.

The ICC has issued arrest warrants for six Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin.

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Al Jazeera and news agencies