Ohmatdyt is the Largest Children’s Hospital in Ukraine. Today, Russia Tried to Destroy It

The Ohmatdyt Children’s Clinic is a Ukrainian legend. It treats the most complex cases, conducting thousands of surgeries. And on July 8th, Russian aviation struck this very place with an X-101 missile. All the clinic’s buildings were damaged, one almost completely destroyed, reduced to dust. Russian propaganda claims it was a Ukrainian anti-aircraft missile, but all the evidence, including X-101 missile fragments found on site, has been published. Russia didn’t stop there: on the same day, a maternity hospital was damaged. Several deaths and dozens of injuries were reported.

Attacks on medical facilities are war crimes, explicitly stated in the Geneva Conventions, recognized worldwide. Over more than two years of full-scale war, hundreds of hospitals across Ukraine have been damaged or destroyed. And Russia continues this destruction.

In this article, we explain why Ohmatdyt is such a significant hospital for the entire country.

Ohmatdyt is the largest children’s hospital in Ukraine. The name is not random; it’s an abbreviation for “protection of motherhood and childhood.”

Each year, the hospital performs:

• around 9,000 surgeries;

• treats about 20,000 children;

• and has 720 beds.

The range of surgeries is vast, including reconstructive and plastic surgery, bone marrow transplants, surgical correction of complex congenital anomalies in newborns, advanced care for extremely premature infants, oncological neurosurgery, diagnosis and treatment of retinopathy in newborns, and a robust medical-genetic center for diagnosing and treating rare hereditary and genetic diseases in children.

One of the key focuses is oncology. Next to Ohmatdyt, the charitable foundation Tabletochki, which helps children with cancer, has grown. Over its 13 years, the foundation has raised nearly 900 million UAH (over $22.5 million) and helped thousands of children.

Almost all parents in Ukraine know about Ohmatdyt; it is one of the most powerful and best hospitals in the country.

Its history dates back to 1894 when Kyiv philanthropist Mykola Tereshchenko, who made his fortune in the agricultural sector and later funded various charitable projects in Kyiv, became one of its founders. He also contributed to the establishment of one of Ukraine’s most famous universities, Kyiv Polytechnic Institute (KPI), and was among the founders of the hospital that later became Ohmatdyt.

The hospital continued to grow throughout its existence and was not destroyed even during the battles for Kyiv in World War II in 1941. Modern Russia, however, seems determined to destroy it.

When Ukraine gained independence in 1991, Ohmatdyt continued to develop. In 2011, construction of two new buildings began, which were completed in 2017 and 2020. These buildings are now damaged due to the Russian attack on July 8th.

Kyiv hospitals and regions across Ukraine responded promptly, ready to accept sick children and provide necessary treatment. Thanks to the coordinated efforts of doctors, no children died during the attack, but Russia took the lives of two, 16 — injured. Ukrainian citizens and businesses have already actively contributed to the financial support for Ohmatdyt, aimed at rebuilding the hospital.