Russia seeks to shift blame for attack on Okhmatdyt children's hospital – ISW

Russian officials and propagandists have been trying to absolve themselves of responsibility for the 8 July attack on Okhmatdyt children's hospital.

Source: Institute for the Study of War (ISW)

Details: Russian officials and information channels are trying to deflect blame for the attack on children's hospital Okhmatdyt by promoting false narratives about the missiles used and the condition of the hospital, which contradicts the evidence.

The Ukrainian Centre for Countering Disinformation highlighted on 9 July that Russian propaganda is spreading misleading claims to divert responsibility from Russia. 

These include claims that Ukraine was using the hospital for treating injured soldiers, storing missiles there or that a Ukrainian air defence missile, rather than a Russian one, was responsible for the strike.

To quote the ISW’s Key Takeaways on 8 July:  

• A Russian Kh-101 cruise missile hit the Okhmatdyt Children's Hospital in central Kyiv during a wider series of missile strikes targeting critical Ukrainian infrastructure throughout the day on 8 July.
• Russian officials and information space actors are attempting to deflect responsibility for the Okhmatdyt Children's Hospital strike by making false claims about the missiles involved and the state of the hospital — all contrary to available evidence.
• The 8 July Russian missile strikes likely employed a new and noteworthy tactic to maximise the damage from such strike series.
• Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and People's Republic of China (PRC) President Xi Jinping continued to posture themselves as potential mediators to an end to the war in Ukraine during a 8 July meeting in Beijing, despite Russian President Vladimir Putin's rejection of serious negotiations or any third-party mediation.
• Russian Vice Admiral Sergei Lipilin replaced Vice Admiral Vladimir Vorobyov as Russian Baltic Fleet Commander.
• Ukrainian forces recently regained lost positions in Chasiv Yar, and Russian forces recently advanced near Donetsk City and in western Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
• Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin called on 8 July for Russia to increase its domestic production of drones fivefold by 2030.

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