On Wednesday, Nov. 6, Russian pilots

bombed this underground hospital in Kafr Nabl, Syria,

putting it out of service.

It’s the second time the Russian Air Force bombed it

this year.

In May, Russian jets dropped four precision bombs

on the very same facility,

a previous Times investigation found.

Kafr Nabl Surgical is a well-known hospital

and in fact, the United Nations

is investigating an earlier attack on it.

Intentionally bombing health facilities is a war crime.

But that doesn’t seem to have deterred Russia.

We know its air force is responsible

because we obtained radio messages recorded

between Russian pilots and their ground control

in Syria.

We deciphered their code words,

including the phrase to confirm

an attack was launched, “Srabotal,” meaning “worked it.”

We compared these audio recordings on Nov. 6

to video evidence of the attack,

the same way we investigated the May attack.

The evidence is clear.

A security camera system inside the hospital

filmed three strikes:

at 4:19, 4:25 and 4:31 p.m.

The radio system recorded Russian pilot 31

launching an attack at 4:21, 4:27 and 4:33 p.m.

Why is there a slight discrepancy in these times?

We confirmed the hospital cameras are

three minutes behind,

and look at the intervals between each strike:

They match up almost to the second, one pilot confirming

three attacks at the exact interval of strikes

on the hospital.

We also examined flight observations

for Nov. 6 logged by a network of spotters in Syria,

who track planes and listen into radio recordings.

They witnessed only Russian jets circling Kafr Nabl

at the time of the attacks at 4:23 and 4:29 p.m.

Russia had to know this location was a hospital.

Remember, a previous Times investigation

showed that Russia had attacked it on May 5.

The Defense Ministry spokesman acknowledged and responded

to that story.

The Russian ambassador to the United Nations

was shown a copy of that investigation

at a U.N. Security Council meeting.

And the hospital’s location is on a no-strike list provided

to Russia by the U.N.

But this latest attack shows that Russia

can continue to bomb health facilities in Syria

with impunity.