'Russia Only Strikes Military Targets': A Chronicle of Attacks on Hospitals, Schools and Shopping Centres

Scale

According to OHCHR (UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine), as of 2024 the confirmed death toll stands at over 11,000 civilians and more than 22,000 wounded. The real figures are significantly higher — combat conditions complicate counting, and occupied territories remain inaccessible.

The most notable strikes on civilian targets

Maternity hospital in Mariupol (9 March 2022)

An air strike hit the maternity hospital and children’s ward in Mariupol:

• 3 killed, including a woman in labour and her unborn child
• 17 wounded
• The building was destroyed
• Russia claimed the building was being used as an “Azov base” — no evidence was provided

The photograph of a pregnant woman on a stretcher being carried from the ruined building went around the world. That woman, Marianna Vyshemirska, and her baby survived.

Mariupol Drama Theatre (16 March 2022)

An aerial bomb struck the Mariupol Drama Theatre, where more than 1,000 civilians were sheltering, mostly women and children:

• The word “CHILDREN” had been written in large letters visible from the air in the courtyard in front of the theatre
• According to Associated Press estimates, around 600 people were killed
• Russia blamed “Azov” for the explosion — all evidence points to an air strike

Kramatorsk railway station (8 April 2022)

A Tochka-U missile struck Kramatorsk railway station, where thousands of civilians were waiting for evacuation trains:

• 61 killed, more than 100 wounded
• The missile was inscribed with “Za detey” (For the children) — a cynical inscription on a weapon that killed civilians
• Russia initially denied involvement, then claimed it was “a Ukrainian missile.” The serial number and trajectory indicate Russia

Amstor shopping centre in Kremenchuk (27 June 2022)

A Kh-22 cruise missile struck a shopping centre in a peaceful city far from the front:

• 22 killed, more than 60 wounded
• At the time of the strike, there were around 1,000 people in the mall
• Russia claimed the mall was “empty” and weapons were stored nearby — satellite images and video disprove this

Okhmatdyt children’s hospital (8 July 2024)

A Kh-101 cruise missile struck Ukraine’s largest children’s hospital Okhmatdyt in central Kyiv:

• 2 killed (a doctor and a visitor), 32 wounded (including children undergoing oncology treatment)
• The missile struck directly the toxicology ward
• Children with IV drips and catheters were evacuated into the street
• Russia initially blamed the Ukrainian Armed Forces, but fragments of the Kh-101 missile (with characteristic markings) were found at the scene
• UN experts confirmed: the strike was carried out by a Russian missile

Systematic destruction of energy infrastructure

From October 2022, Russia has been deliberately destroying Ukraine’s energy system:

• Strikes on power stations, substations, heat supply plants
• The goal — to leave civilians without electricity, heat and water during winter
• This is a war crime under the Geneva Conventions (prohibition of attacks on objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population)

Scale of destruction

According to UNICEF and Ukraine’s Ministry of Education:

• Over 3,700 educational institutions damaged or destroyed
• Over 1,200 medical facilities damaged
• Hundreds of cultural heritage sites destroyed (museums, churches, libraries)

Why these are not “mistakes”

The systematic nature of the strikes rules out “accident”:

1. Strikes on the same types of targets across the entire country (hospitals, schools, power plants)
2. Repeated strikes on the same targets after repair
3. Use of high-precision missiles (Kh-101, Kalibr) — they do not miss by kilometres
4. Massed strikes of dozens of missiles simultaneously — a deliberate choice of targets

Conclusion

“Russia only strikes military targets” is a lie, refuted by thousands of documented strikes on hospitals, schools, railway stations, shopping centres and residential buildings. Every strike is recorded, every victim counted. This is not war — it is terror against the civilian population.