Investigative journalists at Bellingcat reported, that a Russian missile hit the children's hospital “Okhmatdit“ in Kiev on Monday, debunking Russian propaganda claims that deny responsibility to aggressor Russia.
Dozens of civilians were killed and injured in Monday morning's massive Russian missile attack on Ukraine's civilian infrastructure. Nearly 40 missiles were fired, including 13 X-101 cruise missiles. This is exactly what afflicts the children's hospital in Kyiv, where children with cancer are treated. At least three children were killed.
In the first hours after Russia's horrific war crime, footage of the missile strikes was circulated on social networks. In one of the clips, a missile can be seen very clearly a second before the hit to the hospital. This refutes Russian claims that Ukrainian air defense debris caused the explosion.
Bellingcat, citing open source data, geolocation, as well as expert opinions, concluded that a Russian X-101 missile destroyed the medical facility. A 3D analysis shows the distinguishing features of the Russian missile in question, including a jet engine at the rear and two wings in the middle of the missile. Fabian Hofmann, a PhD student at the University of Oslo and a specialist in missile technology, is adamant that it is not a Western missile. He points out a highly distinguishable TRDD-50A engine at the rear of the rocket and the characteristic relatively long mid-body wings.
Dr. Jeffrey Lewis, a nuclear weapons and missile expert at the Middlebury Institute for International Studies in Monterey, California, similarly concluded that an X-101 missile struck the hospital. There is no credible evidence that a US-made missile was responsible for the tragedy.
Following the attack, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) released three images it said showed remnants of the munition that hit the hospital, including a serial number and part of the missile.
It is important to note, however, that none of the SBU images could be geolocated on their own given that they were partially cropped and did not show an environment with recognizable features. This made it difficult to verify that these parts were actually at the scene. However, images later published by the gazeta.ua news website could be geolocated to the hospital and show the same ammunition remnants as detailed in the SBU's Telegram posts.
The full gazeta.ua image can be geolocated just a few meters west of the destroyed hospital building (50.450632, 30.481437) thanks to other images and videos from the scene captured by Reuters and the Kyiv Post.
The 3D image below clearly shows the difference between the Russian X-101 missile and the American AIM-120 that the Russians claim hit the hospital.
There is also a major discrepancy in the Russian theory of the bloody incident. First, the Russians claimed that debris hit the hospital, not an entire missile. Then came the unconfirmed version of a US AIM-120 missile, and then Russia's permanent representative to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, said a Norwegian missile from a NASAMS launcher hit the hospital. This Russian strategy is well known and aims to confuse the information space by sowing different narratives that have nothing to do with the evidence.