Ukraine's Archbishop Sviatoslav Condemns Attack on Children's Hospital “This Is a Sin That Cries to Heaven for Vengeance”

“This Is a Sin That Cries to Heaven for Vengeance”: His Beatitude Sviatoslav Condemns Russian Missile Attack on Okhmatdyt

July 8, 2024,

On July 8, the Russian army launched a massive missile attack on Ukraine. Notably, one of the buildings of the Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital and a private maternity hospital in Kyiv were hit. The Father and Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, called this crime by Russia “a sin that cries to heaven for vengeance.”

“It is horrifying to see that the children who came to save their lives in the artificial kidney center were ruthlessly killed by Russian criminals,” said the Head of the UGCC with deep sadness. Many of them, according to him, were on the verge of death—they were under artificial lung ventilation devices. Many were undergoing surgery at the time. The power outage put their lives in danger.

“In the name of God, with all our resolve, we condemn this crime against humanity,” said His Beatitude Sviatoslav. “It is not only a crime against human laws and rules, international rules of warfare. This is a sin that cries for vengeance to heaven, according to Christian morality.”

The Head of the UGCC urged all people of good will to join in condemning the crime and do everything possible to stop and prosecute the aggressor.

“Today we cry with all the victims, we pray for all the perished, especially the innocent children. We want to wrap all the wounded with our Christian love, all those who are hurting the most,” said His Beatitude Sviatoslav.

The Patriarch also expressed his sincere condolences to the families and friends of the deceased and wounded, and thanked the Ukrainian medical workers for their dedication and heroism: “We see them saving lives even with their faces bleeding. At these moments, medical workers and volunteers are standing in a chain and dismantling stones to save more children whose hearts are beating under the rubble.”

“Lord, by Your power, instill in us hope for the protection of the lives of our children and women. Merciful God, bless our long-suffering Ukrainian land with Your just peace!” prayed the Father and Head of the UGCC.

As a result of the enemy missile attack on Kyiv, July 9 was declared a Day of Mourning in the capital. According to the State Emergency Service, as of 3:30 PM, 20 people were killed and 61 others were injured in Kyiv.

Source: The UGCC Department for Information

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The Russian government, however, denied responsibility for the attack, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov telling media on July 9th that their military does not target civilian structures.

Peskov claims that the strike was probably caused by “a falling anti-missile system” used by Ukraine.