Kremlin to look into attack on Ukraine hospital

The Kremlin said on Thursday that it would look into an attack on a Ukrainian hospital one day earlier that officials said killed three people and injured 17 others.

“We will definitely ask our military, because you and I don’t have clear information about what happened there,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, Reuters reported, after the strike on the children’s hospital in the city of Mariupol sparked international condemnation.

“And the military are very likely to provide some information,” Peskov added.

The remarks represent a shift, Reuters noted, as Peskov on Wednesday denied allegations that Russia targeted the hospital.

“Russian forces do not fire on civilian targets,” Peskov originally said.

Other Russian officials have held the line that the reports about the hospital bombing have been fabricated, according to the news service.

Ukrainian officials were quick to condemn the attack and use it as another example of what they say is the need for a no-fly zone over the nation. 

“Direct strike of Russian troops at the maternity hospital. People, children are under the wreckage. Atrocity! How much longer will the world be an accomplice ignoring terror?” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asked. 

“Close the sky right now! Stop the killings! You have power but you seem to be losing humanity,” he added. 

Western countries, however, have said a no-fly zone would drag them directly into the conflict. 

Ukraine has been saying since the fighting began that Russia has targeted hospitals and schools while the U.S. confirmed the allegations.

The International Criminal Court has opened a war crimes investigation into Russia’s actions since the start of the invasion two weeks ago.