Attack on Kiev children's hospital even disturbs China
In an emergency session, the Russian bombardment of a children's clinic in Kiev is under discussion. As a veto power, Moscow should not expect condemnation from the international community, but even signals from China that could cause concerns for the Kremlin have emerged.
Ukraine hopes for more international support after the most devastating Russian air raid on Kiev this year. "We are continuing to work on the protection of our cities and communities from Russian terror," wrote President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on social media X. He thanked foreign politicians who were preparing new steps to protect Ukraine in response to the devastating attack, including on a children's clinic in Kiev.
At an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council in New York regarding the attacks, Moscow received criticism from the West, as well as a signal from China: "The situation has unfortunately not calmed down, but rather escalated, and there have been brutal attacks that have claimed many victims," said China's deputy ambassador, Geng Shuang. China expressed its concern but did not directly confront its partner Moscow.
Sharp Criticism in New York
"We are here today because Russia, a permanent member of the Security Council, currently the President of the Security Council, has attacked a children's hospital - and it sends a chill down my spine to even say that," said the American UN Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield during a Security Council session of the most powerful UN body in New York. Russia is scheduled to preside over the Council in July on a rotating basis.
The British Ambassador Barbara Woodward added, "Russia's behavior is a shame for the Security Council and especially for the Presidency." France's representative Nicolas de Rivière spoke of "another entry and a list of war crimes" for which Russia must be held accountable.
The Russian UN Ambassador Vasily Nebenzia repeated the Kremlin's version that the Russian attack was on a factory near the hospital. In the aftermath, a Ukrainian anti-aircraft missile was said to have mistakenly hit the clinic. However, the UN Human Rights Office had reported in a preliminary assessment that the building was directly hit by a Russian rocket of the Kh-101 (Ch-101) type.
UN: Attacks on Hospitals are War Crimes
The United Nations meanwhile placed the air raid near the threshold of a war crime. "I would like to remind this Council that hospitals, according to international humanitarian law, enjoy special protection. Deliberate attacks on a protected hospital are a war crime, and the perpetrators must be held accountable," said Joyce Msuya, the acting head of the UN Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordination Office OCHA. Since Russia holds veto power in the Security Council, action against Moscow's aggression by the most powerful UN body is excluded.
The number of deaths in Kiev from the Monday morning attack had risen to 31, with 117 injured. The city had been hit similarly severely, with at least 32 deaths, just before the new year. Ukraine reported at least 42 deaths and 190 injuries from the latest wave of attacks nationwide.
In response to the UN Security Council meeting in New York, China's deputy ambassador Geng Shuang expressed concern over the escalating situation and brutal attacks, but did not directly confront Moscow. Amidst this, the UN Human Rights Office accused Russia of committing a war crime by intentionally attacking a protected children's hospital in Kiev with a Kh-101 (Ch-101) rocket, which led to 31 confirmed deaths and 117 injuries.
