Recently surfaced videos give additional open-source evidence of Russian military targeting Syrian hospitals
Two newly surfaced videos provide additional open-source evidence of Russian military forces systematically targeting hospitals in Syria.
Russian officials have consistently denied the evidence of this systematic bombing campaign. These videos, however, show additional proof of how the Russian military targets civilian infrastructure in Syria, a practice that has been well-documented by The New York Times, and which the DFRLab has been covering since 2016.
Strike on Azaz hospital
Both videos surfaced in February and March 2021 on Russian media outlets and YouTube. Reverse image searches suggest that these videos had not been uploaded previously.
The first video was posted by the Russian Ministry of Defense in response to a recent claim by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, which his office later blamed on an improper briefing, that the Russian-made Iskander missiles procured by Armenia proved faulty amid the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War. Pashinyan said in an interview that only 10 percent of Iskander missiles procured by Armenia exploded upon impact and a potential reason is that the missile is old technology, designed in the 1980s. The Russian Ministry of Defense reacted to these statements with “bewilderment and surprise,” stating that the Iskander missiles are “best in their class.”
As evidence, the ministry posted drone footage of successful attacks using Iskanders on undisclosed locations.
In the midst of the drama with Pashinyan, Russian Defense Ministry published a video of Iskander missile launches in Syria, some hits also shown.
9K728 Iskander-K cruise missile variant seen on the beginning. pic.twitter.com/qpcSS0z4Kb
— Status-6 (Military & Conflict News) (@Archer83Able) February 25, 2021
One of these locations, however, was identified by online researcher @obretix as the hospital in Azaz, Syria. The researcher suggested that this video shows Iskander missiles hitting the Azaz hospital in the territory of Aleppo in February 2016. The hospital was one of several targets during the attack, in which more than 50 people were killed. Involvement in these attacks was denied by Russian military officials back in 2016, despite accusations and documentation from NGOs and researchers.
A look inside the hospitals and the chaos that ensues after a mass casualty incident like the missile strike from Russia yesterday 05 MARCH 2021
People question where are our women in protests??
We are in the HOSPITALS caring for the INJURED 💔#Syria #AlBab #Idlib #Turkey pic.twitter.com/28xekWLEem
— Dr. Caspian 🐲🐱 #RESISTER ❤️🍉🍉🇵🇸🇺🇦🦃 (@CatCaspian) March 6, 2021
Geolocation of these videos confirmed that the target was Azaz hospital.
Photos of the damaged hospital building can be found on social media. Turkey has helped to rebuild the hospital, which was fully reopened in 2020.
It was repaired by Turkey pic.twitter.com/rfMHXtfFYx
— uav / ucav〔⊹〕 (@UAV_UCAV) February 25, 2021
The damage of Iskander missile is also visible on Google Maps satellite imagery, as black residue of fire can be seen on the ground next to the point of impact.
Attack on Al Maghara hospital in Kafr Zita
The second video was published on Russian military TV channel Telekanal Zvezda on March 1, 2021, showing the demolition of an underground hospital in the Kafr Zita region. The video was included in a news report showing recent military developments in Syria. The Al Maghara hospital, which was built in a cave to safeguard from aerial raids, had been abandoned due to damage it when the hospital was targeted by Russian bunker-busting bombs in February 2018.
In the video that surfaced on March 1, 2021, Russian soldiers explain that this hospital was established in 2015 by the rebels to provide medical care in the region, where fierce fighting was happening. The video continues to show Russian soldiers setting up charges and destroying the abandoned, yet still intact facility so it would not be used in the future.
Russian soldiers demolished this underground facility, ensuring that it would never be used again. Geolocation of the video confirmed that this destroyed facility was the Al Maghara hospital in Kafr Zita.
Lukas Andriukaitis is an Associate Director with the Digital Forensic Research Lab.
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