-Analysis-
PARIS — What kind of message does a country send when it bombs a children’s hospital? At what point does a general, chief of staff or president decide that it is legitimate to launch a cruise missile at a medical facility treating children with cancer?
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The testimonies from Kyiv’s Okhmatdyt hospital are horrifying. Shocking images show young patients in treatment being evacuated from the rubble in the arms of stunned nurses, and the largest children’s hospital in Ukraine partially destroyed. The massive wave of Russian missile strikes on Monday hit many other targets in the country, killing 33 and injuring 140.
For Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Russia cannot claim ignorance of where its missiles land. He expressed his hope, in a post on X, that Russia would “be held fully accountable for all its crimes. Against people, against children, against humanity in general.” The UN Secretary-General also condemned the attack. But while the UN Security Council is set to meet today, it is well known that it is powerless.
The attacks are among the most violent in more than two years of war. Hence the question: Why? What is Moscow’s goal with this escalation of horror?
Senseless violence from Moscow
In the absence of any military target, the objective is therefore psychological: It aims to break the morale of Ukrainians, having already targeted the energy infrastructure of major cities.QA
The timing is also carefully chosen: 48 hours before the NATO Summit in Washington. The Alliance is celebrating its 75th anniversary in the context of war on the European continent. Zelensky is expected in Washington, where participants are likely to promise him even more military aid, although not the membership he desires.
Vladimir Putin feels strong enough to send this deterrent message in the form of missiles, at a time when Western nations are facing internal disagreements.
A deadly standoff
The Russian president acts as if he does not fear provoking the West. It’s as if doubts about Joe Biden’s candidacy in the United States and the prospect of Donald Trump’s victory in November, or the weakening of French President Emmanuel Macron in Europe, only fuel his aggressiveness.
The question remains that of the balance of power.
The bombing of the children’s hospital has indeed led to renewed calls in Europe to send air defense systems to Ukraine. According to some reports, Poland is even willing to shoot down Russian missiles over Ukrainian skies from its territory if they are headed in its direction.
The question remains that of the balance of power: Putin was recently discussing peace with his “friend” Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. But it is peace on the Kremlin’s terms, which carries the scent of death. The Western countries want to shift the balance of power in Kyiv’s favor — without always having the means to do so — again, for eventual negotiations.
This standoff is deadly. Yet who can oppose giving Ukraine the means to defend itself, after what we saw in Kyiv on Monday.
