Over 1,000 Russian attacks on Ukrainian hospitals since full-scale invasion
Russia carried out over 1,000 attacks on Ukraine's healthcare facilities in more than 15 months of full-scale war. According to a recently published report by the World Health Organization (WHO), this is the highest number of attacks to be ever recorded in any humanitarian emergency.
This was reported on the official WHO website.
"Attacks on health care are a violation of international humanitarian law. They deprive people of the care they need and have wide-ranging, long-term consequences," said Jarno Habicht, WHO Representative in Ukraine.
The organization defines an attack on health care as “any act of verbal or physical violence" that makes it impossible to deliver "curative and/or preventive health services" in an emergency area. This can range from violence with heavy weapons to psychosocial threats and intimidation.
"These attacks threaten the safety and well-being of health workers and undermine care for people living close to conflict areas," the WHO representative added.
According to the WHO records, a total of 1,004 attacks have claimed at least 101 lives over the past 15 months of the full-scale war unleashed by Russia, including healthcare workers and patients, and injured many more. Medical equipment and vehicles, including ambulances, have also been damaged.
Earlier this month, another global organization, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), updated its data on Ukrainian civilian casualties resulting from the war with Russia. As of May 14, 2023, there were 23,821 victims: 8,836 killed and nearly 15,000 injured.
However, the report notes that actual figures are considerably higher due to the inability to verify victims in hostilities and high-risk areas. This concerns, for example, the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, which was subjected to massive rocket attacks and then occupied by Russia, where, according to the Ukrainian side, the number of civilian casualties may significantly exceed the figure of 20,000.