Explosions ripping through the sky and plumes of smoke seemed an almost daily occurrence as I walked to a meeting in Kiev on Monday morning. I joined a group gathered near the subway entrance and watched as missiles shot over the horizon, seemingly within striking distance of us. Together we watched the explosions, heard the roars, and barely reacted — unfazed after years of war and months of airstrikes and blackouts.
and, Destroyed Okhmadit Children’s HospitalThe largest children’s hospital in Ukraine and one of the largest in Europe, Okhmadit Children’s Hospital was once a proud symbol of the country and a state-of-the-art medical center for specialized medical care, including cancer treatment. But the place where thousands of little patients were promised a healthy life now lay in ruins. Children undergoing complex surgeries and dialysis were injured by shrapnel.
Head UN Human Rights Monitor Reports The attack on the Okhmatdit Children’s Hospital was likely the result of a direct hit from a Russian missile. The July 8 attack on the hospital was part of a series of attacks that have resulted in casualties at the hospital. At least 47 people People from all over Ukraine are taking part, including children.
Some international observers were shocked by the brutality. Who would attack a children’s hospital? But if you think that the attack on Okhmatdyt, and the subsequent attacks on two other medical centers in Kiev, were accidents or isolated incidents, think again. We Ukrainians know this pattern of barbaric violence all too well.
Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) and our partners: Recording and monitoring attacks on healthcare PHR has been constantly analyzing this information since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began. Patterns of violence And our analysis strongly suggests that Russia’s attack on Ukraine’s health care system was not an isolated incident, but a coordinated act of violence that likely amounted to war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Since the invasion began, PHR Recorded 79 attacks affecting children’s health care; Of these, 54 destroyed or damaged children’s hospitals, and at least 60 attacks affected maternal and child health care, of which 38 destroyed or damaged maternal and child health facilities.
Russia knows exactly what it is doing by attacking medical facilities, especially those that serve pregnant women, parents, infants, and children. Russia is denying children access to life-saving medical care now and in the foreseeable future. Russia is denying pregnant women access to the basic pre-natal, antenatal, and post-natal care they need. In short, Russia is trying to destroy the future of Ukraine.
These attacks on health cannot be considered in isolation from other acts of violence and international prosecutors need to investigate them together with other acts of violence. Deportation of Ukrainian children to Russiathe coercive practice of “passportization” whereby Ukrainians are forced to obtain Russian citizenship, and Russia’s widespread and systematic torture of Ukrainians are valid questions for any scholar of international law to consider regarding Russian aggression. May suggest genocidal violenceAfter all, in the context of the Genocide Convention, these attacks may signal an intention to prevent the birth of children through bombing. Maternity Hospital in Mariupol From the first day of the full-scale invasion of 2022 to today.
This subversive strategy is all too familiar to our colleagues at PHR. In Syria, PHR Widespread and coordinated attacks documented The scale, frequency and intensity of attacks on healthcare peaked in the two years following Russia’s intervention. In 2023, our team Interviewed More than 260 respondents, mostly women, reported that ongoing violence in Syria has significantly hindered their access to maternal health care. This lack of access has led to denial or delays in care and even deaths.
A repeating pattern of violence against Russian healthcare ChechnyaIn Syria, and now in Ukraine, violence in violation of international laws and norms is having a devastating impact on maternal and child health, exacerbated by relentless violence. Attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructureThis has a cascading effect on the health care system: without electricity, hospitals will have to rely on expensive and unsustainable generators, limiting their ability to function.
and Currently, the International Court of Justice is not taking legal action. With no accountability for attacks on healthcare, basic norms for protecting healthcare are further eroded. Perpetrators are emboldened to weaponize healthcare for military gain. Indeed, attacks on healthcare crises rage far beyond Russia’s war. Attacks on patients, clinicians and hospitals are also a brutal feature of conflicts in Gaza, Sudan, Myanmar, the Democratic Republic of Congo and elsewhere.
The UN Security Council condemned the health attacks in a 2016 resolution, but the problem has escalated significantly since then. Ironically, Russia once again assumed the rotating presidency of the Security Council on July 1, just one week before the horrific attacks.
But while the UN struggles under skewed rules, accountability for these crimes must still take place. Both national and international prosecutors must prioritize investigating health attacks. The international community should pressure states, regardless of political considerations, to stop these attacks and better train their militaries to protect health care. They also need to improve the documentation of these types of attacks and improve information sharing with accountability mechanisms.
Unlike the smoldering rubble of Okhmadit Children’s Hospital in Kiev, attacks on healthcare cannot be extinguished unless the perpetrators are truly held accountable. When will the world act to prevent another missile attack on a children’s hospital? When will it put out the fire?
Uliana Portavets He led Physicians for Human Rights’ investigation into Ukraine.
