Law enforcement officers have identified a Russian major general of the Russian Armed Forces who is suspected of involvement in organizing a missile strike on July 8, 2024, on the National Children's Specialized Hospital “Okhmatdyt” in Kyiv.
This was reported by the Security Service of Ukraine and Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko.
The SBU said that this is Major General Serhiy Kuvaldin, who received a promotion shortly after the shelling of Okhmatdyt.
“At the time of the enemy attack, Kuvaldin held the position of first deputy commander, chief of staff of long-range aviation of the Russian Air Force. Shortly after the missile strike on Okhmatdyt, the racist received a “promotion” and was appointed commander of long-range aviation of the armed groups of the aggressor country,” the SBU said in a statement.
As noted by Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko, it was on the orders of this Russian general that the crew of the Tu-95MS missile-bomber launched the Kh-101 cruise missile, which hit the building of the Okhmatdyt children's hospital at around 10:45.
“Missiles of this type are programmed according to predetermined coordinates, which indicates the targeted nature of the strike on a civilian medical facility,” Kravchenko's post says.
According to the Prosecutor General, the attack killed a young doctor and the grandfather of a patient. At least 34 people, including 9 children, were injured and traumatized to varying degrees. At the time of the explosion, more than 600 children were in the hospital.
The Russian attack also caused extensive destruction of buildings and destroyed medical equipment necessary to provide highly specialized care to children.
Kuvaldin was informed of suspicion of violation of the laws and customs of war, combined with premeditated murder (Part 2 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). The maximum sanction of the article provides for life imprisonment. Since the general is not in Ukraine, he was suspected in absentia. The editorial office of the Suspilny investigation was looking into how justice works against the occupiers and what will happen to the sentences that are passed in absentia.
According to Kravchenko, this is not the only bloody trail in the Russian general's track record. He had previously been reported as suspected of organizing the rocket attack on Lviv on September 4, 2024. That attack claimed the lives of 8 people, including members of the Bazylevich family (Yaryna, Daryna, Emilia, and Yevheniya).