“Last Friday, the WHO humanitarian aid warehouse in Dnipro, Ukraine, was shelled and destroyed. Currently, there are no reports of casualties,” wrote the Director-General of the United Nations (UN) health agency Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on the social network X.
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He stated that earlier that day a WHO staff member and drivers were on site, and “the team managed to evacuate 130 out of about 300 pallets, they left the area just before the attack.”
According to T. A. Ghebreyesus, the warehouse held humanitarian medical supplies intended for frontline healthcare facilities – primarily WHO emergency medical goods.
WHO records attacks on healthcare systems worldwide but does not name responsible parties according to its rules.
Since February 24, 2022, when the Russian invasion began, the organization has recorded 3,148 attacks on the healthcare sector in Ukraine; the vast majority are related to violence using heavy weapons.
Of these attacks, 2,567 were directed at facilities, 71 at warehouses, and 645 at medical supplies.
In total, 240 people have died and 1,055 have been injured in these attacks.
“I cannot say it loudly enough: attacks on healthcare systems MUST STOP. Otherwise, people lose vital medical care,” said T. A. Ghebreyesus.
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“Even wars have rules. One of them is that healthcare must be protected!” said the WHO chief.
Last month, the organization Doctors Without Borders (MSF) condemned what it called Russia’s “deliberate strategy to destroy the healthcare system” in Ukraine, documenting the consistent nature of attacks throughout the war.
Russia has launched “relentless attacks on healthcare facilities and medical personnel in Ukraine,” the medical humanitarian organization stated.
These actions “appear to be a deliberate strategy to destroy the healthcare system and collectively punish the population, rather than an incidental consequence of the Russian invasion,” MSF noted.
More than two years after the start of Russia’s large-scale offensive in Ukraine, the warring parties are intensifying long-range strikes, resulting in increasing civilian casualties.
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