Kremlin calls missile strike on Kiev children's hospital "a PR campaign based on blood"
The Kremlin has denied responsibility for a rocket strike on a children's hospital in Kiev. "Of course, this is a PR action, in this case, a blood-based PR action," said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov in an interview with Russian state television. The Ukrainians were so clumsy in the use of their air defense systems that one of these rockets hit the hospital, he claimed. Now Kiev is trying to use this tragedy as a background for President Volodymyr Zelensky's participation in the NATO summit. In contrast, the UN Human Rights Office holds Russia accountable for the shelling.
According to official reports, the hospital was heavily damaged by the strike on Monday. At least two adults were killed, including a doctor. Thirty-two people were injured, eight of them children. The latest reports indicate that over 30 people were killed in Russian attacks in Kiev alone. The number of victims could still increase.
Russia regularly bombs Ukrainian cities with drones and rockets, killing civilians in the process. In cases of heavy casualties, Russia often claims that the Ukrainian military caused the damage to the civilian target through the use of their air defense systems.
Peskow lamented in this context that Russian statements on the matter find little credence in the West. However, Kiev itself has also blamed Russian air defense for civilian casualties in its own attacks.
In the current case, the children's hospital was reportedly hit directly by a Russian Kh-101 (Ch-101) missile, according to preliminary investigations by the UN Human Rights Office. Danielle Bell, the head of the UN Human Rights Observer Mission in Ukraine, stated that this is "one of the most horrific attacks we have experienced since the start of the invasion." She and her team have analyzed video recordings and inspected the damage on site.
The Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitri Peskov, acknowledged that the hospital incident could be used as a part of a PR campaign by Kiev during Zelensky's participation in the NATO summit. Despite Peskov's claims about the Ukrainian air defense systems, the UN Human Rights Office earmarks Russia as responsible for the missile impact on the children's hospital in Kiev, leading to substantial civilian casualties, including children, and causing significant damage to the facility.
