On July 8, Russia launched a series of attacks on Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv, Dnipro, Kryvyi Rih, Sloviansk, and Kramatorsk. The special feature of these 2 simultaneous attacks was the targeting of two hospitals in the center of Kyiv: the Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital, destroyed by an X-101/555 cruise missile, and a private maternity hospital on the Left Bank striken by an Iskander missile.

Hospitals as irreplaceable critical infrastructure:

Targeting children-focused hospital infrastructure may have two main objectives:

• Destabilizing Ukrainian society: Following the attacks, some Ukrainian commercial influencers (Yulia Verba, Vlada Rogovenko, Julia Tenkaieva) blamed the government in Kyiv for the attacks, urging for negotiations an end to the war “at any cost.” The three produced the same message, at the same time, using similar phrases. While the anti-government sentiment has not been replicated by any respectable political bloggers or journalists, it illustrates a trend how collective anger and anguish can be exploited to drive a wedge within Ukrainian society, to erode social morale and cohesion, capitalizing on potential public fatigue and frustration. This messaging weakens public trust in Ukrainian leadership and sows discord within the population, creating fertile ground for further Russian manipulation.
• Triggering emigration flow: Russia’s destruction of hospitals has the same logic as that of energy infrastructure and goes beyond immediate damage: it disrupts the ability of Ukrainian cities, even far from the front lines, to function and provide basic services. Infrastructure destruction can send a new wave of Ukrainian refugees to Europe in the fall, as living conditions worsen, placing a strain on both Ukrainian and European economies and undermining European public support to Ukraine. Furthermore, while energy generation can be decentralized and partly replaced by private generators, hospitals cannot be easily replaced.

Overall, Russia’s attacks on civilian targets, particularly a children’s hospital, represent a barbaric escalation of the conflict. These actions aim to break the Ukrainian resolve through fear and despair.