Ukraine: UN Security Council meets on attack on children’s hospital in Kyiv

After the recent Russian missile attacks on Ukrainian cities, which left dozens of people dead, Moscow is once again being pilloried by the international community. The UN Security Council wants to hold an emergency meeting to address the attacks, which, among other things, caused severe damage to a children’s hospital in Kiev. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, condemned the Russian missile attacks and called for those responsible to be held accountable.

More than three dozen people were killed and over 140 injured in the attacks on Kiev and Dnipro. According to the military administration, at least 27 people died in the capital, including three children, and 82 people were injured. Eleven dead and 59 injured were officially reported in Dnipro. President Volodymyr Zelensky presented different figures on Platform X – he spoke of a total of 37 dead and 170 injured, including 13 children.

Since Russia has veto power in the Security Council, unanimous condemnation of the actions of the Russian armed forces is not to be expected. “We must hold Russia accountable for the terror and (Kremlin chief Vladimir) Putin for the orders to carry out the attacks,” demanded Zelensky during a visit to Warsaw. “Whenever someone tries to talk to him about peace, Russia responds with attacks on residential buildings and hospitals.”

Meanwhile, in the Ukrainian capital, rescue work continued at the damaged children’s hospital. Hundreds of residents helped firefighters search for other victims and clear the rubble. US President Joe Biden called the attacks “a gruesome reminder of Russia’s brutality.” He warned that it was crucial that the world continued to stand by Ukraine at this important moment.

Politicians react with horror after attack on children’s hospital in Ukraine

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Türk, condemned the rocket attacks. “Among the victims were the sickest children in Ukraine,” he said in Geneva. Shockingly, one of the attacks severely damaged the intensive care unit of Ukraine’s largest children’s hospital and destroyed the dialysis department. “This is disgusting,” said Türk. “Those who have influence must do everything to stop these attacks immediately.”

Also in Kyiv, according to Türk, at least seven civilians were killed in one of Ukraine’s largest women’s health centers by falling debris from a rocket intercepted over the facility.

FDP politician Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann was also horrified. “With the brutal attack on a children’s hospital, Putin is once again showing us his cruelty,” she said. “Anyone who still claims that Putin wants to negotiate is frighteningly out of touch with reality and infinitely naive.” No one with eyes could now oppose the delivery of Taurus cruise missiles to the attacked country. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) has so far rejected this on the grounds that Germany must not be drawn into the war.

The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed missile attacks that were allegedly aimed at Ukrainian arms factories and military airfields. From the Russian perspective, the many video images from Kiev proved that the damage had been caused by a Ukrainian anti-aircraft missile, it said without providing any evidence. The Moscow military dismissed the Ukrainians’ shock at the attack as “hysteria on the part of the Kiev regime,” which is often seen before NATO meetings.