More than 3,000 attacks on Ukraine healthcare since start of war: WHO

The World Health Organization (WHO) said Friday it had registered more than 3,000 attacks on Ukraine’s healthcare system since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.

“During 1,534 days of war, Ukraine’s healthcare system has experienced repeated attacks.

WHO has verified more than 3,000 attacks on healthcare over this period,” the WHO’s European branch said in a statement.

Some 80 percent of the attacks have targeted outpatient clinics, hospitals and other care settings, while ambulances and other health-related vehicles accounted for the remaining 20 percent.

“Every one of these attacks is a violation of international humanitarian law,” the director of WHO Europe, Hans Kluge, said in the statement. “This cannot be normalised,” he said.

“Under international humanitarian law, healthcare is protected. That is not a guideline or a recommendation.

It is a binding obligation on all parties to any conflict.” The damage to healthcare infrastructure has affected medical staff’s ability to provide essential care amid growing needs, the WHO said.