The Russian Defense Ministry has denied media reports its aircraft hit hospitals in Syria, saying the medical facilities mentioned by Western media don’t actually exist.
The Defense Ministry has checked the data presented in recent media reports, which blamed Russian aviation for hitting several hospitals in Syria, Major-General Igor Konashenkov, the ministry spokesman said in a press briefing on Monday.
Konashenkov denied the accusations, which he said were "traditionally made without any proof, without any factual backing.”
Out of six hospitals that were mentioned in the reports, only one medical facility actually exists in real life, he added.
"We’ve checked this information. It turned out that, a hospital is only present in the village Sarmin,” the spokesman said, adding that there are no hospitals and no medical workers in the other five villages named in media reports.
The Defense Ministry presented a photo of the Sarmin hospital, which was taken on October 31 after the reports emerged.
The image showed the building was intact, disproving claims it had been completely destroyed and 12 people killed.
Reports in several Western media outlets on October 21-23 claimed that 12 people, including doctors, were killed in a Russian airstrike on the village of Sarmin in Syria’s Idlib province. They also said medical facilities were hit in al-Eis, al-Hadher, Khan Tuman, Latamna and al-Zarba; RT reported.
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