ISW says Russia is trying to justify its Okhmatdyt in a number of ways

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Sources of Russian propaganda after the attack by the occupying power Hospitals in Kiev They are stepping up various information operations aimed at shifting the blame for the attack away from Russia. This is pointed out in the latest conclusions of analysts from the Institute for the Study of War ( Independent Software Engineer ).

According to the experts’ conclusions, Russia tried to justify the attack on Okhmatdyt by launching a large-scale information operation for this purpose. Therefore, they considered the children’s hospital to be partially or fully military, since in this case it should be a legitimate military target. However, ISW clarified that Okhmatdyt is the most diverse children’s hospital in Ukraine, treating up to 18,000 children per year.

The expert stressed that Russia is a signatory to the Geneva Convention for the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War. Art. 19 of the document states that the protection of civilian hospitals under international law does not end if they do not commit “acts harmful to the enemy”, so even military hospitals are not legal targets.

– Article 19 of the Convention also states that an “enemy” must give a warning before attacking a hospital allegedly containing “harmful” military objectives. However, analysts explain that no Russian source claims that Russian authorities gave such a warning, nor has any evidence been provided that a hospital full of sick children posed an imminent threat to Russian forces.

They said that the statement of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation about the hit of Okhmatit by Ukrainian air defense interceptors and the statement of a Russian officer about the accidental hit of a medical facility by a Russian hospital also do not absolve the occupiers of responsibility.

ISW stressed that Russia is the aggressor in this war, so if the Kremlin had not invaded Ukraine and launched regular attacks, the Wehrmacht would not have to defend against Russian missiles.

According to the institute’s report, Russian disinformation campaigns do not absolve the occupying forces of legal or moral responsibility for the consequences of their attack on Ukraine.