The Ohmatdyt paediatric hospital, located in the heart of Kyiv, has been a beacon of relief for countless families since Russia’s onslaught on Ukraine, serving as a refuge that provides critical care to the youngest casualties of the conflict. Through specialised treatment and prosthetic aid, the hospital plays a vital role in restoring the abilities of these young patients to see, walk and grasp objects.
However, the tranquillity of the hospital was cruelly disrupted on Monday, as a missile strike wreaked havoc, partly demolishing the building and reducing it to ashes. The aftermath saw seriously sick children anxiously awaiting rescue on the outside, while the very ambulances that would normally transport ailing and wounded individuals to this institution, hastily transported injured healthcare workers to alternative treatment facilities.
The missile attack resulted in the tragic loss of at least two lives, including one doctor, at Ohmatdyt. Sixteen people incurred injuries, with seven of them being children. On the same day, a series of missile attacks claimed at least 22 lives and left over 70 injured across Kyiv, with another 13 fatalities and approximately 50 injuries occurring due to Russian rocket raids on the eastern part of Ukraine.
Mariya Soloshenko, a newly recruited nurse at Ohmatdyt, recounted the terrifying experience, “As the major explosions began, we deemed it best to move all the kids to the basement. But another strike caused a debris shower,” she said. Her blue uniform was marked with blood stains. “The alarm was palpable. We weren’t entirely sure of what was transpiring. To make an escape with the kids, we had to manoeuvre through the windows – it was our only exit point,” Soloshenko added.
She relayed the incident of their ward sister sustaining a severe leg fracture from an object strike. “Unaware of her identity initially, we carried her in our arms until I cleaned her face and shockingly discovered it was her,” she said. “I also encountered the lifeless body of one of our doctors.”
Repeated missile strikes in the vicinity of the hospital severely complicated the evacuations, making it a perilous and horrific experience, as shared by Olena Rydan, an orderly at the hospital. “We began moving the kids to the shelters only to be met with more blasts. Panic ensued amongst the crowd, underscoring the urgency to get everyone – children and adults, into the shelters,” she revisited.
“Another detonation occurred, igniting a blaze close to the shelter’s entrance. The number of blasts I heard were definitely four, but I couldn’t confirm the exact count,” said one eyewitness. Multiple medical personnel, previously experienced with caring for children harmed by Russian assaults in other parts of Ukraine, found themselves too horrified or disgusted to articulate their thoughts. Dr. Mykyta Nechaev firmly suggested that the world should come to realise a momentous verdict: “Russia is a state of terror.”