SSU Identifies Russian General Who Ordered Missile Strike on Okhmatdyt Hospital

The Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) has identified the Russian general who ordered the missile strike on the Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital in Kyiv in the summer of 2024.

The identity of the war criminal was revealed in a statement by the Security Service of Ukraine.

Investigators established that the order was issued by Major General Sergei Kuvaldin, who currently serves as commander of the long-range aviation of the Russian Air Force.

He was notified in absentia of his suspicion of committing this war crime.

According to the case file, on July 8, 2024, Kuvaldin gave a combat order to launch a missile strike on the Okhmatdyt National Children’s Specialized Hospital in Kyiv.

Strike on Okhmatdyt

The investigation established that the Russians attacked the medical facility with an Kh-101 strategic cruise missile launched from a Tu-95MS bomber.

As a result of this strike, two Ukrainian civilians were killed, and dozens more were injured to varying degrees.

The medical facility and the children’s hospital premises, with high-tech equipment, were significantly damaged.

Russia tried to pass off the strike on the hospital as the work of Ukrainian air defense forces using NASAMS and Patriot missile systems. However, analysis of the missile from the video of the strike shows that it was indeed a Russian Kh-101 that carried out the strike.

At the time of the enemy attack, Kuvaldin held the position of first deputy commander and chief of staff of the long-range aviation of the Russian Air Force.

“Shortly after the missile strike on Okhmatdyt, the Russian was promoted and appointed commander of the long-range aviation of the aggressor country’s armed forces,” the SSU said.

In addition, the Security Service had previously notified Kuvaldin in absentia of its suspicion of involvement in the missile attack on the infrastructure of the UNESCO World Heritage Site in Lviv on the night of September 3-4, 2024.