Two Russian commanders have been served notices of suspicion over the strikes on the Okhmatdyt hospital in Kyiv and the Sapphire Hotel in Kramatorsk, Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko said on Monday on social media, UNN reports.
From order to launch: two Russian commanders served notices of suspicion over strikes on Okhmatdyt and Sapphire
"The footage from the devastated Okhmatdyt cannot be forgotten. Children with IV drips out in the open. Doctors, parents and rescuers clearing the rubble. Destroyed operating rooms where, just moments before the strike, doctors had been fighting for children's lives. On July 8, 2024, a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile hit the treatment building of the country's largest children's hospital. More than 600 children were there. A doctor and the grandfather of a young patient were killed. At least 34 people were injured, including nine children," he noted.
He added: "A month and a half later, on August 24, a Russian Iskander-M ballistic missile destroyed the Sapphire Hotel in Kramatorsk. Representatives of foreign media who reported the truth about Russian aggression to the world were staying there. Ryan Evans, a 38-year-old Reuters security adviser, was killed. Ten other people were injured, including four Ukrainian citizens, five international journalists and employees of the aforementioned news agency, and one journalist from Poland."
"Russian missiles do not choose their targets themselves. People enter the coordinates. People issue the orders. People carry out the launches. Today, two more Russian commanders have been served notices of suspicion of war crimes," Kravchenko said.
As the Prosecutor General noted, "according to the investigation, the strike on Okhmatdyt was directly coordinated by a major general—the commander of the 22nd Heavy Bomber Aviation Division of the Long-Range Aviation of the Russian Armed Forces." "Acting on the orders of Russia's top military and political leadership, he issued a combat order to subordinate units and coordinated the missile strike on the children's hospital," he said.
"According to the investigation, the attack on the Sapphire Hotel was facilitated by a colonel—the commander of the 1st Missile Brigade of the 49th Combined Arms Army of the Russian Armed Forces. While in Rostov Oblast, he issued orders to his subordinates, coordinated their actions and controlled the execution of the strike," the Prosecutor General added.
The actions of both commanders have been classified under Part 2 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine: violation of the laws and customs of war, combined with intentional murder
"Russia immediately tried to cover up both crimes with lies. After the strike on Okhmatdyt, Russian propaganda fabricated claims about a 'falling Ukrainian air-defense missile,' a 'military hospital' and a 'weapons warehouse.' After the attack on Sapphire, Russian sources claimed that 'foreign mercenaries' had allegedly been 'eliminated.' When the death of a member of the Reuters team and the journalists' injuries became known, the strike began to be called 'punishment,'" he noted.
"A hospital where children were saved. A hotel where journalists lived. No military necessity. No military advantage. Only deliberate terror against civilians. We are consistently reconstructing the entire chain of the criminal order: from the top command that planned and authorized the attacks to the commanders and servicemen who ensured their execution. Everyone involved will be held accountable for every war crime. We continue our work," Kravchenko emphasized.