The Security Service and the Prosecutor General’s Office have identified the russian general who commanded the missile attack on the medical building of the National Children’s Hospital Okhmatdyt in Kyiv on 8 July this year.

This is lieutenant general Sergei Kobylash, who at the time held the position of commander of the long-range aviation of the russian aerospace forces. After the attack, he was promoted and appointed commander of the russian air force.

This was announced by the SSU Deputy Head Serhii Naumiuk during a working meeting with the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Karim Khan and the Prosecutor General Andrii Kostin.

‘During the investigation, the SSU together with the Prosecutor General’s Office did a huge amount of work. We interviewed 112 victims and 50 witnesses, conducted explosive, medical and other forensic examinations, analyzed CCTV footage,’ said Serhii Naumiuk.

As was established, at 9:15 a.m. on 8 July 2024, a russian Tu-95MS bomber launched a Kh-101 missile at a children’s hospital in Kyiv.

According to the Deputy Head of the SSU, the attack on Okhmatdyt was carried out by the 22^nd guards heavy bomber aviation division of the russian aerospace forces.

The enemy aircraft took off from an airfield near the russian city of Olenegorsk and launched the missile over Saratov region, russia, almost 600 km from the Ukrainian border.

From russian territory, the Kh-101 entered Ukrainian airspace in Chernihiv region and began to manoeuvre, constantly changing its flight path through four regions.

This indicates that the missile was programmed to evade Ukrainian air defenses as much as possible and then hit the medical facility.

At approximately 10:45 a.m., the russian Kh-101 hit the intensive and efferent therapy unit for acute and chronic intoxication at Okhmatdyt hospital.

The attack killed 2 people, including a paediatric nephrologist. Another 35 people were injured, including 9 children.

The strike also damaged administrative buildings, medical, laboratory and diagnostic buildings, a transformer substation, utility rooms and the hospital’s heating station.

At the scene, the law enforcement found the remains of the missile with markings indicating that it was manufactured at the russian Raduga design bureau in the second quarter of 2024.

Based on the evidence, SSU investigators notified Kobylash of suspicion in absentia under Articles 28.2, 438.2 of the CCU (violation of laws and customs of war, combined with premeditated murder, committed by a group).

‘Kobylash is also suspected of other war crimes in Ukraine. In particular, he is responsible for the attacks on civilian energy infrastructure in 2022-2023. For these war crimes, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Kobylash in March 2024,’ Naumiuk said.

The suspected enemy general is in russia; efforts are underway to bring him to justice for crimes against Ukraine.