Today, July 8th, the russian forces have launched a new massive wave of long-range attack missiles, targeting multiple cities across Ukraine: Kyiv, Kryvyi Rih, Dnipro, Sloviansk, Kramatorsk, Pokrovsk. The shelling was carried out in two phases: it started with a limited launch of only four Kh-101 cruise missiles deployed by Tu-95MS bombers and two ballistic missiles by Iskander SRBM systems during the night. According to the report of the Ukrainian Air Force Command, three cruise missiles were shot down.
Then, around 10:30 in the morning, russian unleashed a mass attack using over 40 missiles of various types, as reported by Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyi. No detailed information has been released by the Air Force by the time of this publication. Based on official air threat warnings, the attack might have involved Kh-47 Kinzhal air-launched ballistic missiles and Kh-101 cruise missiles, most likely, some other types were used, too.
Read more: Shooting Down UAVs Not Enough, Ukraine Needs SM-6 to Counter Iskander Strikes
One of the russian missiles hit in the middle of a residential building, and another landed on the Okhmatdyt Children's Hospital, a large medical treatment facility in Kyiv. As of now, 16 victims are reported as a result of this strike, including children. The rubble is still being cleared, and more information about the deceased and injured keeps coming.
A local resident managed to film the moment a missile hit the Okhmatdyt hospital. This footage alone does not allow for a reliable identification of the exact type of the cruise missile. More importantly, there is no visible indication that this missile was shot down or damaged.
The angle of strike testifies that it had entered the terminal phase of flight — after the traditional programmed arc-shaped maneuver with a short climb and a steep nosedive. These details signify that the missile did not stray from its intended course and was knowing where it was heading.
That, in turn, leads to the conclusion that the hospital was the target from the start. Okhmatdyt's coordinates were input data during the missile's preparation, and falling onto the hospital was not a mistake of Ukrainian air defense or an incorrect route planning on the russian side but a conscious target selection. More videos appear online:
Furthermore, a few times during the debris clearing, air raid alarms went off. A typical situation for instances where russian forces launched follow-up strikes on the same target — a tactic aiming to disrupt operations of emergency services and kill rescuers, firefighters, and survivors.
Besides the strike on the children's hospital, missiles landed also in other districts of Ukraine's capital and in several more cities across the country. The russian missiles targeting the city of Kryvyi Rih struck an administrative building of an industrial enterprise. As of now, 10 deceased and 31 injured were reported by head of the city's military administration Oleksandr Vilkul.
A video captures the moment a Russian missile targeted a children’s hospital in Kyiv during Monday morning rush hour. pic.twitter.com/pIC5VRWtti— UNITED24 Media (@United24media) July 8, 2024
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