Ukraine urges ICC to prosecute Russia for hospital missile strike
Ukrainian Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin is urging the International Criminal Court (ICC) to hold Russia accountable for the missile attack on Kyiv’s Okhmadyt Children's Hospital, Reuters reported on July 12.
“For the sake of international justice, cases like the intentional attack on the biggest child hospital in Kyiv (are) worth lifting to the ICC," he said, noting that investigating the strike on the hospital could reveal a pattern of attacks by Russia, implicating them in crimes against humanity in Ukraine.
Kostin said that the decision to prosecute lies with the ICC prosecutor and that Kyiv is ready to share any physical evidence or details of its investigation with the court. While the Ukrainian authorities can press charges for war crimes, they are unable to charge for more serious crimes against humanity as they are not covered by the country’s criminal code.
The Prosecutor General noted that while the Ukrainian authorities are investigating all the attacks committed on Monday, they can only press charges for war crimes, but not for more serious crimes against humanity, as they are not.
"It's important to show that Russia itself, at the moment, is a criminal state," Kostin said and reminded that a key element of prosecuting crimes against humanity is to demonstrate systematic attacks on civilians.
Russia’s massive missile attack on July 8
Russia launched a massive missile attack on Kyiv, Dnipro, Kryvyi Rih, and other Ukrainian cities on July 8, killing 44 people and injuring 196 others, including 10 children.
Ukraine’s air defense forces intercepted 30 of the 38 incoming missiles, including Kinzhal, Iskander-M, Kh-101, Kalibr, and Kh-59/Kh-69 missiles, according to Ukrainian Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk.
The attack targeted the Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital and struck a high-rise residential building in Kyiv’s Shevchenkivskyi district, completely demolishing one entrance of the building.
A subsequent attack on Kyiv partially destroyed a medical center in the Dniprovskyi district, killing eight people.
Damage has been reported in seven Kyiv districts.
Ukraine’s State Emergency Service reported 11 fatalities in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast — 10 in Kryvyi Rih and one in Dnipro — and 64 injuries.
A day of mourning was declared in Kyiv and Kryvyi Rih on July 9.
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