Three more Russian commanders served with notices of suspicion over Okhmatdyt missile strike
Ukrainian law enforcement officers have served notices of suspicion in absentia on three Russian forces commanders for their involvement in organising the missile strike on the Okhmatdyt children's hospital in Kyiv, which claimed the lives of two people.
Source: Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) and the Office of the Prosecutor General
Details: The suspects are Colonel Oleg Skitsky, Commander of the 121st Heavy Bomber Aviation Regiment of the Russian Federation; Colonel Ilya Koryakin, Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff of the 22nd Heavy Bomber Aviation Division of the Russian Federation; and Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Senchenko, Chief of Staff and Deputy Commander of the 121st Heavy Bomber Aviation Regiment of this formation.
According to the investigation, they participated in planning the attack and ordered their subordinates to strike Okhmatdyt with an Kh-101 cruise missile, which was launched from a Tu-95MS bomber on 8 July 2024.
All three are charged under Article 438.2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (war crimes combined with premeditated murder).
Earlier, three other Russian military personnel – Generals Sergei Kobylash, Sergei Kuvaldin and Nikolai Varpakhovich – received notices of suspicion in absentia.
Quote from the Office of the Prosecutor General: "Thus, notices of suspicion in the case of the strike on Okhmatdyt have already been served on six representatives of the Russian military command, ranging from the leadership of Long-Range Aviation to the command of an aviation regiment."
Background:
- On 8 July 2024, Russian forces attacked the medical building of Okhmatdyt, where young patients were being treated. Meanwhile, there were over 600 sick children in the hospital, who had been moved to the basement after the air-raid warning was issued.
- The strike killed a young female doctor and the grandfather of one of the patients, and at least 34 other people were injured.
- The medical facility's toxicology department, which provided care for seriously ill children on dialysis, was damaged.
- In September 2026, an assassination attempt was made in Russia's Saratov Oblast on Major General Nikolai Varpakhovich, who directed the attack on Okhmatdyt. The Russian was shot, but doctors managed to remove the bullets at the hospital.
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