The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in close cooperation with the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, is working to attract international assistance to overcome the consequences of the Russian strike and restore the National Children's Specialized Hospital OKHMATDYT.
That was declaired by Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba during the national TV marathon "United News" live from the United States, where the NATO Washington Summit is starting.
"Yesterday I spoke with Health Minister Viktor Liashko and assured him that the Foreign Ministry is ready to provide comprehensive assistance to solve the problems that have arisen in connection with the destruction of the Okhmatdyt hospital. Our embassies and diplomats are already working as hard as possible to attract international assistance to restore the destroyed premises and equipment. The Ukrainian state will do everything to restore as soon as possible the stable operation of this hospital, which is known to everyone in Ukraine and which really saves lives", the Minister said.
At the time of the connection to the broadcast, an emergency meeting on the latest Russian strikes, convened by Ukraine, was underway at the UN Security Council. The foreign minister said that Ukrainian diplomats had repelled Russia's attempt to block Ukraine's participation in the meeting the day before. According to him, the meeting is important for the case of Okhmatdyt to be heard around the world, and for the governments of all countries to hear the positions announced at the meeting.
"It is important for the world to hear Russia's lies. This meeting will help to further mobilization support for the restoration of Okhmatdyt, as well as to wider range of issues, including the promotion of President Zelenskyy's Peace Formula and blocking proposals for alternative peace plans that are unfavorable to Ukraine," the Foreign Minister said.
The minister also expressed his belief that the barbaric Russian attack on July 8 was directly related to the signing of an unprecedented security agreement by the presidents of Ukraine and Poland and the NATO summit in Washington.
"This was a deliberate demonstration of force, ruthlessness and criminal nature on the part of the Russian Federation. And this attack must be met with a comprehensive, powerful response. A powerful defense and diplomatic strike. The decisions made in Poland are the first step. The decisions to be made at the NATO summit are the second step. They will concern real, practical things. What weapons will Ukraine receive, what air defense systems will Ukraine receive. It will be a strong, effective response," the Minister said.
Kuleba added that Ukraine is working on another solution that does not depend directly on NATO, but depends on the United States and will be discussed during contacts with American officials and other individual close partners.
"We are talking about authorizing the use of long-range weapons on Russian military airfields on its territory. We need to ruthlessly destroy all military targets that are involved in one way or another in the bombing and missile attacks on Ukraine. Revenge must be cold-blooded, but it must happen," the Foreign Minister summarized.