Russian Kh-101 missile that hit Kyiv children’s hospital on 8 July was manufactured shortly before attack

Pieces of the Russian Kh-101 missile that hit the Okhmatdyt children’s hospital in Kyiv on 8 July 2024. Photo: Security Service of Ukraine

Investigators from Conflict Armament Research (CAR) have discovered that the missile used by Russian forces to strike the Okhmatdyt National Specialised Children’s Hospital in Kyiv on 8 July 2024 was manufactured in Russia just a few weeks, or possibly even days, before the attack.

Source: Conflict Armament Research investigators; Militarnyi, a Ukrainian military outlet

Details: The investigators’ analysis, based on an examination of remnants of the missile, reveals that the missile that hit the Okhmatdyt hospital was produced no more than three months before the attack – and possibly as recently as eight days before.

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The researchers documented parts of a 13-digit production number (31526379XXXX) on the missile’s tail section. This format matches the markings documented on 11 other Russian Kh-101 missiles in Ukraine since 2022.

Following their tracking methodology, CAR has obscured the last five digits, which would uniquely identify the missile.

The digits “7” and “9” indicate that the missile was manufactured in the second quarter of 2024 (between 1 April and 30 June 2024), according to a previously published CAR methodology. 

Since the strike on the children’s hospital occurred on 8 July, this confirms that the missile was produced just a few weeks, or possibly even days, before the attack.

Background:

• As a result of a Russian missile attack on Kyiv on 8 July, a strike was recorded on the premises of the Okhmatdyt children’s hospital. One of the hospital buildings was destroyed.  
• The Security Service of Ukraine has classified Russia’s strike on Okhmatdyt as a war crime and opened a criminal investigation into the incident. They noted that the Russians used a Kh-101 strategic cruise missile to target the medical facility.  
• The Ukrainian Air Force has also definitively refuted the possibility that the hospital could have been struck by a Ukrainian air defence missile. The evidence includes a video screenshot and photos of the Kh-101 missile, as well as photos of an AIM-120 missile being launched from a NASAMS air defence system.  
• Analysts from Bellingcat, along with a number of independent experts on nuclear weapons and missile technologies, have concluded that the strike on the Okhmatdyt hospital was carried out with a Russian Kh-101 missile.

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