Ukraine has identified a Russian major general suspected of organizing the missile strike on Kyiv’s Okhmatdyt children’s hospital and issued him a notice of suspicion for war crimes, Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko said Wednesday, March 4.
According to Kravchenko, the officer – a former first deputy commander and chief of staff of Russia’s long-range aviation forces who now serves as commander of the branch – coordinated Russian units during a massive missile attack on Ukraine on July 8, 2024.
Investigators say the general ordered the launch of a Kh-101 cruise missile from a Tu-95MS strategic bomber, which struck the National Specialized Children’s Hospital Okhmatdyt at around 10:45 a.m.
Missiles of this type are programmed with pre-determined coordinates, investigators said, indicating the strike on the civilian medical facility was deliberate.
The attack killed a young doctor and the grandfather of one of the patients. At least 34 people were injured, including 9 children. More than 600 children were in the hospital at the time of the strike.
The blast caused extensive damage to hospital buildings and destroyed specialized medical equipment used to treat critically ill children.
Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) said the suspect is Maj. Gen. Sergei Kuvaldin, who at the time served as first deputy commander and chief of staff of Russia’s long-range aviation.
Ukrainian authorities notified him of suspicion in absentia under Article 438 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code covering war crimes resulting in death.
The SBU also said Kuvaldin had previously been notified of suspicion for allegedly organizing another missile strike on Lviv on Sept. 4, 2024, which killed eight civilians.
Because the suspect remains in Russia, Ukrainian authorities said efforts are ongoing to bring him to justice.