A Russian missile attack which hit a Kyiv children’s hospital is “a sin that cries to heaven for vengeance”, Ukraine's top Catholic leader has said.
The rockets killed at least nine people at the Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital, Kyiv’s largest medical facility for children, and wounded 33 other civilians. A private maternity hospital was also partially destroyed during the missile attack.
Pictures released to the media show child cancer patients being evacuated alongside their parents.
His Beatitude Sviatoslav, the spiritual leader of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, said: “It is horrifying to see that the children who came to save their lives in the artificial kidney centre were ruthlessly killed by Russian criminals.”
According to the Patriarch, many of the victims were extremely sick, some breathing only with the assistance of ventilators, while others were undergoing surgery at the time of the attack, which also caused a power cut.
“In the name of God, with all our resolve, we condemn this crime against humanity,” he said. “It is not only a crime against human laws and rules, international rules of warfare. This is a sin that cries for vengeance to heaven, according to Christian morality.”
He added: “Today we cry with all the victims, we pray for all the perished, especially the innocent children. We want to wrap all the wounded with our Christian love, all those who are hurting the most.”
The Patriarch thanked the medical workers for their dedication and heroism:
“We see them saving lives even with their faces bleeding. At these moments, medical workers and volunteers are standing in a chain and dismantling stones to save more children whose hearts are beating under the rubble.”
He continued: “Lord, by Your power, instil in us hope for the protection of the lives of our children and women. Merciful God, bless our long-suffering Ukrainian land with Your just peace.”
The bombardment on 8 July was the largest Russian attack on the Ukrainian capital for months, according to government officials.
It formed part of a wider missile attack which killed at least 36 people and injured 130 others. An estimated 38 rockets were fired, with eight hitting targets in Ukraine, mostly involving infrastructure and including electricity substations and electricity grids.
The Ukrainian air force has revealed that the attacks included Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, which fly at 10 times the speed of sound, making them hard to shoot down.
The attack comes days ahead of a NATO summit in Washington DC this week, which will be the first outing on the international stage for the <a href="https://catholicherald.co.uk/its-right-to-congratulate-sir-keir-and-to-pray-he-works-with-the-churches-and-not-against-them/"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">UK's new Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer</mark></a>.
The United Nations Security Council was due to meet today at the request of Britain, France, Ecuador, Slovenia and the United States in response to the latest attack on Kyiv.
It came a day after the Holy Family parish school in Gaza was hit by an Israeli military strike, <a href="https://catholicherald.co.uk/israeli-military-strike-hits-sacred-family-school-in-gaza/?swcfpc=1"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">drawing similar opprobrium from the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem</mark></a>. <br><br><em>Photo: Rescue and military forces work through the rubble of a destroyed building of Ohmatdyt Children's Hospital following a missile strike, Kyiv, Ukraine, 8 July 2024. (Photo by ORI AVIRAM/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images.)</em>
