Ukraine - France utterly condemns the Russian army’s strikes targeting the Mariupol children’s hospital (March 9, 2022)

France utterly condemns the Russian army’s strikes targeting the Mariupol children’s hospital, which killed several people, including a child. This is a flagrant and massive violation of international humanitarian law.

For roughly ten days now, the Russian army has been laying siege to the city of Mariupol and its 300,000 inhabitants, who have been subjected to incessant bombings, which have already killed a great number of civilians. This attack took place despite the fact that a ceasefire had been agreed upon in order to allow for the evacuation of civilians.

The obligation to comply with international humanitarian law applies to all of the parties in armed conflicts. It is important that these violations of humanitarian law, which may constitute war crimes, do not go unpunished and that it be possible for them to be documented, in particular in the framework of the investigation opened by the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.

France reiterates its calls for an immediate ceasefire throughout all of Ukraine and for free, unhindered humanitarian access.