NATO will use Kiev hospital tragedy to escalate conflict - Moscow

RT
Tue, 09 Jul 2024 08:13 UTC

© FILE PHOTO: Russian Ambassador to the US Antatoly Antonov.

Sputnik / Mikhail Turgiyev

The US-led bloc will use the incident to justify continued arming of Ukraine, the Russian ambassador has claimed

A deadly missile incident at a prominent children's hospital in Kiev will be used by Western nations to justify sending more weapons to Ukraine, Russian Ambassador to the US Antatoly Antonov has claimed.

The Okhmatdet (short for "protection of motherhood and childhood") medical facility in the Ukrainian capital was seriously damaged by a powerful missile explosion that landed near it amid a Russian long-range barrage on multiple targets in Ukraine. Kiev and Moscow have accused each other of firing the projectile that damaged the facility.

Antonov accused Western media of hiding some relevant facts about "the tragedy that occurred" from their audience, including the assessment of the Russian Defense Ministry that the missile came from a Ukrainian air defense system stationed inside Kiev. Instead, the press and the US government are "whipping up hysterics," the diplomat claimed on Monday.

"The reality is that the incident with the destroyed hospital, which happened on the eve of a NATO summit in Washington, was apparently taken by Kiev's backers as a 'perfect gift' to justify further escalation of the conflict and continuation of hostilities to the last Ukrainian," the ambassador lamented.

Senior Ukrainian officials have suggested that the Russian military deliberately targeted Okhmatdet. Vladimir Zelensky has declared that the missile hit and Moscow's attribution of it to Ukrainian air defenses demonstrate "the cynicism of ugly bastards in the Kremlin."

Pro-Kiev media outlets have said that the weapon that struck the hospital was a Russian air-launched Kh-101 cruise missile. Critics of that claim allege that the projectile, which can apparently be seen in a video filmed from a distance by a witness, was probably an AIM120 fired by a NASAM missile system or an interceptor fired by the MIM-104 Patriot missile system. Western donors have provided those US-developed weapons to Ukraine.

According to Ukrainian officials, two adults, including a doctor, were killed at Okhmatdet, while ten others were injured. Two storeys of the facility's main building were reported destroyed.

A three-day NATO leaders summit is scheduled to start on Tuesday. Ukraine will reportedly be offered a "bridge to membership" at the event, and a Germany-based permanent mission to aid the delivery of western weapons.

Comment:

a video filmed from a distance by a witness, was probably an AIM120 fired by a NASAM missile system or an interceptor fired by the MIM-104 Patriot missile system. Western donors have provided those US-developed weapons to Ukraine.

A screenshot of the post on X under the link MIM-104:

© X.com

From the same source:
9 Jul, 2024 10:42
Kremlin responds to Kiev hospital attack allegations

Russian forces do not target civilian infrastructure in Ukraine, spokesman Dmitry Peskov has stressed

© Getty Images / Sergei Chuzavkov; SOPA Images; LightRocket

Destroyed building of the Okhmatdet children's hospital in Kiev

Moscow has vehemently denied responsibility for the tragedy at the Okhmatdet children's hospital in Kiev, after a missile hit the facility on Monday. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has insisted that the incident was caused by a Ukrainian air defense missile.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Peskov stressed that Russia "does not strike civilian targets" and that all strikes carried out by the Russian military are exclusively aimed at "critical infrastructure facilities and military targets that are somehow related to the regime's military potential."

Regarding Ukraine's accusations that Moscow intentionally hit the hospital in Kiev, Peskov pointed to the official statement by the Russian Defense Ministry, which "absolutely rules out that there were strikes on any civilian targets. It states that we are talking about the fall of an anti-missile."

The Russian Defense Ministry reported on Monday that it had conducted a large-scale attack using long-range high-precision weapons to strike Ukrainian military industry facilities and aviation bases. The attack was said to be in response to Kiev's continued attempts to cause damage to Russian energy and economic facilities.

The ministry stated that all the intended targets were hit and rejected Kiev's claims of Russian missiles striking civilian facilities as "absolutely untrue."

"Numerous published photos and video footage from Kiev clearly confirm the fact of destruction due to the fall of a Ukrainian air defense missile launched from an anti-aircraft missile system within the city," the ministry said.

It also accused Kiev of attempting similar "hysterics" in the past, especially before large international summits, such as the NATO gathering in Washington that kicked off on Tuesday. The Russian Defense Ministry suggested that the incident at Okhmatdet is being used by the Ukrainian authorities to ensure continued funding and the continuation of the conflict.

[...]

The event may serve to shoot down the attempt of the Hungarian PM, Victor Orban, to open a dialogue about the possibility of bringing the parties to the negotiation table, though we have to wait for the outcome of the current NATO Summit in Washington to learn if that interpretation is too pessimistic.