Forensic experts identify over 30 parts of Russian Kh-101 missile that hit Okhmatdyt hospital

Specialists from the Kyiv Scientific Research Institute of Forensic Expertise of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine identified over 30 parts and fragments of the missile that Russia used to strike the Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital on 8 July 2024 and identified it, as suspected, as the Kh-101, one of Russia’s most advanced cruise missiles. 

The strike on Ukraine’s central children’s hospital, which destroyed its entire toxicology wing and operating rooms, took the lives of two people, including a doctor, and wounded 32. A little boy later died from his injuries in an ICU.

Russian propagandists and officials have baselessly claimed that the missile that hit the hospital originated from a Ukrainian air defense system. However, OSINT evidence pointed to the Kh-101, as did an early report by Ukraine’s Security Service. As the course of these missiles with an accuracy of under 20 meters is programmed in advance, there is virtually no doubt that Russia’s strike on civilian infrastructure protected by the Geneva Conventions is a planned war crime. 

By analyzing the parts and a video of the strike, Ukrainian experts identified over 30 parts and fragments of the missile, including a part of the rotation drive with fragments of the missile wing console longeron; fragments of the tail section with parts of aerodynamic rudders; a fragment of the engine and fragments of the outer skin of the engine with parts of the serial number and production number of the engine, Andrii Haichenko, Deputy Minister of Justice of Ukraine, was quoted as saying.

He reported that specialists from the Kyiv Scientific Research Institute of Forensic Expertise of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine worked on the territory of the Okhmatdyt hospital from 8 to 9 July for the prompt identification of the weapon used by the enemy.

Based on the video of the missile hitting the Okhmatdyt children’s hospital available to the experts, an approximate calculation of the size of the cruise missile was made – 7.5 meters.

Tags: