A Ukrainian influencer has been criticised for revealing the location of a field hospital treating injured troops just hours before it was hit by a lethal Russian air strike.
Anna Alkhim, who has 600,000 Instagram followers, had posted an appeal for aid for the clinic in the eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro, saying injured Ukrainian troops were there.
But hours after her post on Thursday, a Russian missile strike targeted the field hospital, killing four people and wounding 30 others, including two boys aged three and six.
The attack, which left the building in a pile of burning rubble, was condemned by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as a crime against humanity.
In her post, Alkhim said hospitals numbers 6 and 9 were treating a large number of military personnel.
Ukrainian influencer Anna Alkhim (pictured) has been criticised for revealing the location of a field hospital treating injured troops just hours before it was hit by a lethal Russian air strike
Hours after her post on Thursday, a Russian missile strike targeted the hospital (pictured), killing four people and wounding 30 others, including two boys aged three and six
Pictured: The destroyed clinic was set on fire following a Russian air strike in Dnipro on 26 May
She reportedly called on her followers to help the country’s defenders by taking clothes and food to collection points.
Local media have accused her of releasing information that allowed Russian forces to target the clinic.
Alkhim then reportedly deleted her post, which contained information deemed sensitive about the Ukrainian military and the hospital.
Ukraine has been under martial law since February 2022 and officials have repeatedly cautioned influencers and the media against posting sensitive information online that could be used by Russia.
After being criticised for sharing the information, the influencer defended herself, saying: ‘Firstly, I made a publication yesterday, because half of the inhabitants of Dnipro had it.’
She added: ‘And let me remind you that I am one of the few influencers who fills her stories and feed with publications about the war.
‘I have volunteered and supported Ukraine from the first days of the war.’
Alkhim went on: ‘But you don’t give a f*** about it, because you need to post me on your stupid channels.’
Zelensky condemned the Russian attack as a ‘crime against humanity. The Ukrainian President said a psychological clinic and a veterinary clinic had been hit, and added: ‘Only an evil state can fight against clinics. There can be no military purpose in this. It is pure Russian terror.’
Regional governor Serhiy Lysak said a 69-year-old man had been killed as he passed the clinic and another man’s body had been pulled from the rubble.
Anna Alkhim (pictured), who has 600,000 Instagram followers, had posted an appeal for aid for the clinic in the eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro, saying injured Ukrainian troops were there
Alkhim had called on her followers to help the country’s defenders by taking clothes and food to collection points
Pictured: The destroyed clinic was set on fire following a Russian air strike in Dnipro on 26 May
Police officers stand near the site of a missile strike on a hospital in Dnipro on May 26
Another two men were later found dead amongst the rubble, Lysak said, adding that 30 people had been wounded including two children.
Ukraine’s Defence Ministry called the attack a serious war crime under the Geneva Conventions, which sets out how soldiers and civilians should be treated in war.
Moscow has dismissed allegations that its soldiers have committed war crimes and denies deliberately targeting civilians although it has bombarded cities across Ukraine since invading 15 months ago.
The State Emergency Service of Ukraine said on Friday: ‘As a result of a missile strike, a three-story building of a medical institution was partially destroyed in the city, followed by burning, as well as a fire in an adjacent building.
‘The fire at the medical facility was extinguished in an area of 1,000 square metres.
‘In the one-story building of the veterinary clinic, the area of the fire was 200 square metres. Rescue units have already dealt with it.
‘Two people died on the spot, and another 23 were injured, including two children born in 2020 and 2017.
‘In total, 52 rescuers and 18 pieces of equipment were involved from the State Emergency Service for liquidation of the consequences.’
The Ukrainian authorities have since said that the attack claimed the lives of four people.
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