{"id":91318,"date":"2024-07-09T18:53:11","date_gmt":"2024-07-09T18:53:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/07\/09\/at-ukraines-largest-childrens-hospital-a-horrific-scene-of-destruction\/"},"modified":"2024-07-09T18:53:11","modified_gmt":"2024-07-09T18:53:11","slug":"at-ukraines-largest-childrens-hospital-a-horrific-scene-of-destruction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/07\/09\/at-ukraines-largest-childrens-hospital-a-horrific-scene-of-destruction\/","title":{"rendered":"At Ukraine\u2019s Largest Children\u2019s Hospital, a Horrific Scene of Destruction"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1050\" height=\"550\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/07\/09\/multimedia\/09ukraine-children-01-hpvl-promo\/09ukraine-children-01-hpvl-facebookJumbo.jpg?resize=1050,550&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"At Ukraine\u2019s Largest Children\u2019s Hospital, a Horrific Scene of Destruction\" title=\"At Ukraine\u2019s Largest Children\u2019s Hospital, a Horrific Scene of Destruction\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Daryna Vertetska was sitting with her 8-year-old daughter in Ukraine\u2019s largest children\u2019s hospital on Monday morning when Russian missiles began to ring out in the sky.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Her daughter, Kira, was receiving treatment for her cancer as the explosions boomed across the capital, Kyiv.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cWe decided not to interrupt it,\u201d Ms. Vertetska said of the treatment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">As Kira continued her treatment, a missile slammed directly into the Okhmatdyt Children\u2019s Hospital, triggering an explosion so loud it defied description, she said. Shards of flying glass cut into the child\u2019s skin.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cShe was very frightened,\u201d said Ms. Vertetska, 33. Bloodied but alive, the pair scrambled through the smoke and dust to safety.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Now, the hospital where Kira had spent five months receiving lifesaving treatment is gone, another medical facility destroyed by Russia in its yearslong invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">As exhausted rescue workers finished sifting through the rubble of the hospital on Tuesday, doctors and nurses raced to help the scores of critically ill children who now must find care elsewhere, including many undergoing intensive cancer treatments like Kira.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">No children were killed at the hospital on Monday, but its destruction marked one of the worst days of violence against Ukrainian civilians in months, with more than 30 people killed in Kyiv alone. The Russian assault on Monday targeted the capital and cities throughout the country.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cI don\u2019t want to, but I think I\u2019m losing hope,\u201d Ms. Vertetska said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The attack at the hospital left young patients sitting on the street with IV drips attached to their arms. The bombing also damaged Ukraine\u2019s most sophisticated laboratory for testing and confirming certain types of cancer, the Ukrainian health ministry said, adding that it was evaluating the state of the equipment to see what could be restored.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cIt is terrifying because this is the only reference laboratory in Ukraine that confirms all oncohematological diseases,\u201d Dr. Natalia Molodets, the head of the pediatric hematology department at the Odesa regional children\u2019s hospital, said, referring to blood cancers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Even in the first weeks of the war, when Russian forces were trying to seize Kyiv, the laboratory continued to operate, according to Dr. Molodets.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cFor our children, it is vital,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Russia has targeted Ukrainian medical facilities since the first days of the war, a pattern outlined by a range of international rights organizations. The bombing of a maternity hospital in Mariupol in the weeks after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine was an early indication of Moscow\u2019s brutal tactics.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">As of this April, the World Health Organization said it had <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.who.int\/ukraine\/news\/item\/04-04-2024-triple-risk-of-harm-for-ukraine-s-health-transport-workers-over-other-health-care-staff--who-data-indicates\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">verified around 1,682 direct attacks<\/a> on medical facilities using heavy weapons, resulting in 128 deaths and 288 injuries of staff members and patients.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Around the same time that the children\u2019s hospital was hit on Monday, debris from another Russian missile crashed into the Isida maternity hospital and a neighboring private clinic elsewhere in Kyiv. Nine people were killed in that strike, including two children.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Another two children \u2014 Maksym Symaniuk, 10, and his 9-year-old sister Nastia \u2014 were also killed by falling missile debris at their home on Monday, according to <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/karate.ua\/posts\/pfbid0d89WD4yZzoHyH4wwaGSG7pL2JAWEqm4WZUh1buVKGdKtELCyat5JdByRJK5JzXJJl?locale=uk_UA\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">the Ukrainian Karate Federation<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">On Tuesday, Volodymyr Zhovnir, director of Okhmatdyt Children\u2019s Hospital, delivered testimony about the strike at an emergency meeting at United Nations Security Council.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cBoth children and adults screamed and cried from fear and the wounded from pain,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was a real hell.\u201d More than 300 people were injured, including eight children, according to Mr. Zhovnir. Two adults were also killed, including one doctor.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">At the Security Council meeting, Moscow denied that it had targeted the facility, despite <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/07\/08\/world\/europe\/russia-ukraine-missile-strikes-childrens-hospital.html\" title=\"\">analyzed video footage and missile fragments<\/a> collected by the Ukrainian security services that suggest the hospital was hit by a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">International organizations including UNICEF and the Victor Pinchuk Foundation in Ukraine have pledged to help rebuild the hospital. But with some 7,000 complex surgeries performed at Okhmatdyt annually, doctors say it will not be easily replaced.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">President Biden, who is welcoming Western leaders to Washington for the 75th anniversary of NATO on Tuesday, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/briefing-room\/statements-releases\/2024\/07\/08\/statement-from-president-joe-biden-on-russian-missile-strikes-in-ukraine\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">issued a statement<\/a> saying Monday\u2019s attack served as \u201ca horrific reminder of Russia\u2019s brutality.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Children who are treated at Okhmatdyt are often unable to evacuate to the hospital\u2019s bomb shelter during regular air raids because moving them would interrupt their care. Many of the patients are now being transferred to other hospitals across Ukraine, including in Odesa and Lviv.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">As the nation\u2019s top children\u2019s hospital, Okhmatdyt was also the place where children who <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/10\/28\/world\/europe\/ukraine-children-war.html\" title=\"\">experienced intense physical and emotional trauma<\/a> were sent for treatment. The staff is trained to handle some of the most difficult medical situations. But many said nothing could have prepared them for the horror of Monday\u2019s attack.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Nazar Borozniuk, a physical therapist at the hospital, said it was pure luck that no children were killed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">A video clip he filmed from inside the hospital in the aftermath of the attack showed ceiling panels and broken glass on the floor. \u201cThis is how everything looks now,\u201d he says in the video. \u201cI hope nothing falls on our heads.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Speaking by phone on Monday evening, Mr. Borozniuk described the harrowing scenes that had played out in front of patients and staff at the hospital. \u201cWe started evacuating children, parents and families,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The hospital staff alongside emergency medical workers and volunteers spent Monday tending to the wounded. Other parts of the hospital, like the emergency room, continued to function even as firefighters rained water over the ruins to keep fires from spreading.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cI couldn\u2019t even pick up the phone because my hands were covered in blood from helping out,\u201d Mr. Borozniuk said. \u201cI just knew what needed to be done with the children: Provide first aid, help those who were injured and evacuate those who needed it,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The scene was so chaotic that Mr. Borozniuk said his feelings \u201cjust disappeared.\u201d But as he drove home on Monday evening, hours after the hospital was hit, he finally began to process what had happened. \u201cThere will definitely be psychological consequences for everyone,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cWe are all human.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-798hid etfikam0\">Oleksandra Mykolyshyn<!-- --> contributed reporting from Kyiv, <!-- -->Dzvinka Pinchuk<!-- --> from Odesa and <!-- -->Eve Sampson<!-- --> from New York.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/07\/09\/world\/europe\/ukraine-childrens-hospial-russia.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Daryna Vertetska was sitting with her 8-year-old daughter in Ukraine\u2019s largest children\u2019s hospital on Monday morning when Russian missiles began to ring out in the sky. Her daughter, Kira, was receiving treatment for her cancer as the explosions boomed across the capital, Kyiv. \u201cWe decided not to interrupt it,\u201d Ms. Vertetska said of the treatment. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":91319,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/07\/09\/multimedia\/09ukraine-children-01-hpvl-promo\/09ukraine-children-01-hpvl-facebookJumbo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1724,20986,22606,180,3493,7375,11626],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91318"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=91318"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91318\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":91320,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91318\/revisions\/91320"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/91319"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=91318"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=91318"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=91318"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}