KYIV - Workers are putting the finishing touches on the Okhmatdyt children’s cardiac hospital in Kyiv, applying the last coats of white paint to its trim. Below, a damaged stroller and construction materials rest on a pile of debris. One year after a rocket attack devastated Ukraine’s largest children’s hospital, the facility is preparing to reopen with assistance from the Canadian Red Cross.

The attack, which occurred in July 2024, resulted in four fatalities and injured several others. Mykyta Ilin from the Red Cross pointed to a smaller building nearby, explaining, "The rocket actually fell to that building. Luckily, it hit this small building ... and not the main children's hospital or the cardio centre where the practical surgical operations were happening."

The five-story, mustard-yellow brick hospital has been closed since the attack. It serves as a critical facility, designed to care for up to 18,000 children annually. The explosion shattered windows in surrounding medical buildings and disrupted three heart surgeries in progress at the time. Ilin noted, "I think every window got destroyed. The windows were damaged, the facade was damaged. The roof was damaged a lot."

Currently, medical equipment in the cardiac center is covered with tarps as renovations continue. The roof has been repaired, operating rooms rebuilt, and fresh paint applied. Ilin stated, "Our approach is not to build a new hospital. The Red Cross approach is to repair how it was before, but make it a little better."

Originally constructed in 1894 as the Kyiv Free Cesarevych Mykola Hospital for Laborers and the Poor, the building was repurposed about 20 years ago as a children’s cardiac center. Sabina Voronetsa, health coordinator for the Canadian Red Cross in Kyiv, emphasized its importance, saying, "It's the biggest children's hospital in Ukraine and the centre of cardiology and cardio surgery in all of Ukraine."

Following the attack, patients were moved to a smaller facility, but Voronetsa noted that the need for care is increasing. She expressed hope that Okhmatdyt will reopen within a month. The renovation costs are estimated at $1.4 million, with the Canadian Red Cross having raised $500,000 through a special appeal.

Voronetsa highlighted the ongoing impact of the attack on both patients and staff, stating, "Children were inside, staff at the centre and hospital were doing their work and they were just caught in the middle of it. It's a hospital, and it's horrible and it's terrifying that any hospital anywhere could be attacked."

Robert Laprade, the Canadian Red Cross country representative in Ukraine, visited the hospital for the first time since taking on his role a month ago. He reflected on the harrowing stories he has encountered, saying, "Children were actually on the operating table and the destruction happened, and people were running around like crazy trying to save their lives. They've been able to pull it together."