UNICEF to help rebuild Okhmatdyt - Lubinets

Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets said that the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) would help restore the Okhmatdyt hospital damaged by a Russian missile.

Lubinets said this during a press conference in Kyiv, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"I urgently contacted Regina de Dominicius, who is the Regional Director of UNICEF for Ukraine, Europe and Central Asia, and asked for direct assistance. Yesterday, I had a direct conversation with Munir Mammadzade, the head of the UNICEF office in Ukraine, who confirmed that he had received all the instructions and that UNICEF was ready to allocate funding to help those children and families who were in Okhmatdyt in the first place. They will also work to restore the hospital as quickly as possible," Lubinets said.

He also thanked the ambassadors who have already announced that they are ready to allocate funds for the restoration of the children's hospital.

"Yesterday's events showed Russia's genocidal policy. International experts have confirmed that a Russian missile was deliberately fired at the Okhmatdyt children's hospital," the Ombudsman added.

Lubinets also noted that he had sent letters to more than 800 of his colleagues - human rights defenders around the world - regarding the Russian attack on Okhmatdyt.

"This morning I signed more than 800 letters to all my fellow ombudsmen, to all the heads of international organisations, to the High Commissioners, as well as to the heads of the parliamentary committees on human rights of the European parliaments. We expect a response," Lubinets added.

The Ombudsman expressed hope that "our actions will lead to the world finally waking up".

"The question is not about Ukraine, the question is about the survival of the entire democratic world. The question is which country will be next after Ukraine, against which Russia will continue its aggression," Lubinets stressed.

Read also: More than 30 heads of foreign diplomatic missions visit site of Russian attack on Okhmatdyt

As Ukrinform reported, on Monday, 8 July, Russia launched massive strikes on Kyiv, Dnipro, Kryvyi Rih and other cities of Ukraine. As of the morning of 9 July, there were 38 dead, including four children, and 170 injured. In the capital, one of the rockets hit the building of the Okhmatdyt children's hospital. Two floors of the hospital's building, covering an area of approximately 400 square metres, were destroyed. Several other buildings were damaged.