Putin's 'Family Values' Event Sparks Fury After Attack on Kids' Hospital

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday attended a Moscow event promoting family values, sparking anger as a missile hit a children's hospital in Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, causing multiple civilian casualties.

On July 8, Russia celebrates its Family, Love, and Fidelity Day, a holiday "dedicated to preserving family values," the website of the ruling United Russia party says. Putin in 2022 signed a decree giving the celebration official status. "For us, for the state, there can be nothing more important than strengthening the family," Putin said Monday as he met participants of a competition for Russian children.

Across the border in neighboring Ukraine, Russia launched one of its deadliest attacks of the year, its troops sending a barrage of missiles to hit targets across the country, including the Okhmatdyt Children's Hospital in Kyiv. At least 38 people were killed and 190 were injured nationwide.

A day of mourning is being observed in the country as a result of the attacks. Searches were still ongoing on Tuesday for survivors trapped beneath rubble at Ukraine's largest pediatrics facility.

Russia denied targeting the children's hospital, saying on Monday that debris from a Ukrainian air-defense missile hit the facility. Ukraine said the Russians used a Kh-101 cruise missile to attack the site. Ukraine's Security Service said it had found wreckage from the weapon.

"The experts' conclusions are unequivocal – it was a direct strike," Ukraine's State Security Service said on Telegram. Newsweek has as yet been unable to verify this.

Putin said in Moscow on Monday: "If you went to this competition, a family competition, it means that you not only felt like a family team, but were also ready to work together to achieve a common goal. Nothing unites people like working together to achieve a common result."

Putin's celebration of Russia's Family, Love, and Fidelity Day against the backdrop of the deadly attacks sparked negative reactions on social media.

"While russian missiles were flying at hospitals in Ukraine, putin spoke at the closing of the russia exhibition and promised new benefits for large families on the occasion of Family Day," said pro-Ukrainian X (formerly Twitter) user Jürgen Nauditt, who posts regular updates about the war.

"Putin who is known to love Ukrainian children so much that he stole thousands of them, hosted event 'promoting family values' after bombing children's hospital in [Kyiv]," another X user wrote.

In an emailed statement to Newsweek, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk deplored Russia's missile strikes on Ukraine.

"Shockingly, one of the strikes severely damaged the intensive care, surgical and oncology wards of Okhmatdyt, which is Ukraine's largest children's referral hospital, and destroyed its children's toxicology department, where children receive dialysis," Türk said. "Among the victims were Ukraine's sickest children."

Türk added: "There must be prompt, thorough and independent investigations into these latest grave attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, and those responsible must be held to account."

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