Kyiv evacuates children hospital due to attack threat

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko in front of the city hospital during the evacuation on April 26, 2024. (Screenshot of Vitali Klitschko's video/Telegram)

Kyiv authorities announced on April 26 an urgent evacuation of two hospitals, including a children's one, saying that they were at a risk of being targeted in an air attack.

The two hospitals are located on Bohatyrska Street in the capital's northern Obolon district, according to the statement.

The Kyiv City State Administration cited an unspecified video, which it said was circulating on social media, that appeared to "effectively announce an attack on these medical facilities." According to the administration, the video falsely claims that the hospitals host military personnel.

The authorities were likely referring to the video that showed Ivan Tertel, Belarusian security chief, speaking at the All-Belarusian People’s Assembly on April 25. In the video, which circulated online, the Belarusian official references "terrorists hiding in Kyiv hospitals," after which he named the addresses of two Kyiv hospitals on Bohatyrska Street. While Belarus troops aren't participating in the war, Belarus is an ally of Russia. The country, Ukraine's northern neighbor, has helped Russian war effort by welcoming

Kyiv authorities said there was no military personnel in the hospital.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) called Tertel's claims "a manifestation of psychological operations that play into the hands of Russia."

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko posted a video on Telegram showing the undergoing evacuation from hospitals "to protect children, their parents, adult patients and staff from a possible attack on these medical facilities."

"There is no evidence to suggest that Russia is actually going to launch such strikes so far," Kyiv City Military Administration head Serhiy Popko said.

Read also: Ukraine’s obsolete S-200 missile systems reportedly back on track to hit Russian targets