One of Ukraine’s largest medical facilities, the Kyiv Children’s Clinical Hospital “Okhmatdyt,” was targeted by Russian missiles, causing destruction and extensive damage. The hospital, known for its role in providing medical care to critically ill children from across Ukraine, is now unable to continue its operations due to the extensive damage.
In particular, the building housing the intensive care and toxicology departments, hemodialysis, and laboratory research departments was severely damaged. Other multi-story buildings of the hospital also suffered damage.
The head of the bone marrow transplantation department, Oleksandr Lysitsa, reported that almost 80% of the hospital is out of order. All communications are destroyed, there is no electricity or water supply.
The exact number of dead and injured is not yet known, as the rescue operation and evacuation of all those who were in the hospital during the shelling are ongoing.
After the rocket strikes on the Kyiv Children's Clinical Hospital "Okhmatdyt", SES workers and volunteers immediately began rescue operations, clearing the rubble of the destroyed building where people could remain.
Speaking on a national telethon, Health Minister Viktor Lyashko stressed that only after the completion of these rescue operations will it be possible to finally assess the number of dead and injured. He noted that there are confirmed cases of deaths, but due to constant changes in the situation, he cannot disclose specific information for ethical reasons.
At the time of the last report, as of 3:00 p.m. Monday, two deaths were confirmed, one of whom was doctor Svitlana Lukyanchuk, whose name was given by Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadov. A total of 16 people were injured, including seven children.
One of the doctors who worked in the intensive care unit of the destroyed building reported in a telethon that at the time of the shelling there were about 20 patients there, including those who had undergone artificial kidney transplantation.
Minister Lyashko stated that all patients from other departments of the damaged but not destroyed hospital buildings were evacuated to other medical facilities, including operating and intensive care units.
It was separately noted that among the damaged buildings was the Children's Cardiac Surgery Center, where three heart surgeries were being performed at the time of the shelling. Damage to the windows led to contamination of the patients' chest cavities, but with the help of medical staff, the children were evacuated to safer conditions.
Minister Lyashko emphasized that priority for evacuation was given to patients who require artificial lung ventilation, oxygen therapy, or depend on medical equipment that operates on electricity.
On the BBC, nurse Iryna spoke about the dramatic moments of the evacuation, in particular, about an attempt to operate on a two-month-old baby at the moment of rocket fire. The surgeon decided to cover the child's body to protect it from potential injuries.
Iryna emphasized that the situation was very tense and noisy, and she was almost speechless from shock. Despite this, they successfully evacuated the child to a safe place, where she was not injured.
“The Russians are attacking our children,” the nurse told the BBC in tears, noting the importance of protecting medical staff and patients during hostilities.
According to the Minister of Health, the heads of all departments of the Kyiv Children's Clinical Hospital "Okhmatdyt" are actively evacuating patients to other medical institutions. Viktor Lyashko noted that the network of these institutions is ready to accept all evacuees, and there are enough places.
“I am evacuating my department. Currently, there are 20 seriously ill patients and more than 30 less serious cases. Among them are children from infants to teenagers,” said Oleksandr Lysitsa from BBC Ukraine.
An operational headquarters is working to coordinate assistance to relatives and organize evacuation.
The Minister of Health emphasized to journalists that it is too early to talk about the timing of the resumption of work at Okhmatdyt.
"The main thing now is to save lives. Then we will decide how to resume the work of hospitals that need resources for this and how to transport equipment to other medical institutions if necessary," Lyashko emphasized.
During a joint press conference in Warsaw with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk confirmed his country's readiness to accept patients from Okhmatdyt in Polish clinics.
Immediately after the reports of the destruction of Okhmatdyt, some Russian Telegram channels wrote that “important people” were holding meetings in one of the hospital buildings and that it was the one that was targeted.
Later, the Russian Ministry of Defense stated that Kyiv was shelling itself, and the downed missile fell into the hospital yard only due to the work of air defense.
President Volodymyr Zelensky, while in Poland, stated that Russia purposefully directed a missile at the hospital, and this is confirmed by photos and videos published by Kyiv residents on social networks.
SBU investigators previously established that the Russians used the Kh-101 strategic cruise missile.
