Children in a cancer hospital are not soldiers of war

The appalling Russian missile attack on a Kyiv paediatric hospital, where children undergo cancer treatment, as part of a wider bombardment of Ukraine cities is another poignant reminder of how maiming and slaughtering the innocent is now standard battle tactics in the two wars that currently haunt people across the globe.

In Russia’s heaviest bombardment of Kyiv in almost four months, 41 people were reportedly killed around the nation, but it was the missile that hit the Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital that prompted worldwide outrage over the ruthless attack on civilians.

The strike largely destroyed the hospital’s toxicology ward, where children with severe kidney issues were being treated. Hundreds of rescue workers and volunteers joined the effort to clear the debris and search for survivors.

Although Ukraine has been able to blunt a major Russian offensive near Kharkiv with weapons from the US and European countries, its troops are outnumbered by Russia’s large ground force and it has been struggling to maintain its air defences against a relentless Russian bombardment of missiles and drones.

After the hospital attack, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky posted images from the wreckage on social media, which showed children covered in blood and broken glass strewn across hospital rooms with cribs. “Russia cannot claim ignorance of where its missiles are flying and must be held fully accountable for all its crimes. Against people, against children, against humanity in general,” Zelensky said. “It is very important that the world does not remain silent about this now and that everyone sees what Russia is and what it is doing.”

Russia has long laughably claimed it does not target civilians and its foreign ministry denied targeting the hospital, saying it was hit by fragments of a Ukrainian air defence missile. The ministry said that the Russian military had only targeted “Ukrainian military industrial sites and air bases” and blamed the destruction in Kyiv on Ukrainian air defences.

The bombardment came on the eve of a three-day NATO summit in Washington, where world leaders – but not Prime Minister Anthony Albanese who regrettably passed on attending even though Australia is the sixth largest non-NATO contributor to the Zelensky regime’s war effort – are looking to reassure Ukraine and offer Ukrainians hope that their country can come through Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II.

However, the shadow of Donald Trump hangs over the summit. His possible victory in November’s presidential election and dislike for multilateral alliances posits a decline in US aid and pressure on Kyiv to bow to Russian demands. Trump has said he would end the war but not explained how. The best way to Trump-proof Ukraine may well be to accede to its fervent wish to join NATO as protection in any negotiated armistice between Kyiv and Moscow.

Russia’s bombing of the children’s hospital is repugnant and, if elected, Trump’s expected move to cede ground to such a brutal regime is surely equally repugnant. NATO leaders must stand shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine and assure unwavering support.

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