Ten percent of Ukraine’s hospitals have been “directly damaged” in attacks from Russia in the last year, according to a new report released Tuesday.
Russian forces in Ukraine have repeatedly launched attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure, raising alarms about possible war crimes and crimes against humanity. The breadth of the attacks in the south and eastern parts of Ukraine has displaced millions of Ukrainian civilians and left thousands dead and more injured.
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There were a total of 707 attacks on Ukraine’s healthcare system from the day the war began — Feb. 24, 2022 — and the end of the calendar year, according to a joint report from eyeWitness to Atrocities, Insecurity Insight, the Media Initiative for Human Rights, Physicians for Human Rights, and the Ukrainian Healthcare Center.
Among the more than 700 attacks, there were 292 documented attacks that damaged or destroyed 218 hospitals and clinics, 65 documented attacks on ambulances, and 181 documented attacks on other healthcare infrastructure, including pharmacies, blood centers, dental clinics, and research centers. There were also 86 attacks on healthcare workers, resulting in a total of 62 health workers killed and 52 injured.
“In Mariupol, in the southern part of Donetsk Oblast, almost 8 out of 10 points of healthcare service provision, sites where medical assistance is available, were either damaged or destroyed,” the report reads. “In 10 oblasts, 48 hospitals were hit multiple times, underscoring not only the indiscriminate nature of attacks but also the possibility that they were deliberately targeted.”
The authors of the report argued that Russia’s “targeted and indiscriminate attacks on Ukraine’s healthcare facilities” amounts to “a gross violation of international law” and called on them to cease these attacks and pay reparations.
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Vice President Kamala Harris accused Russia of committing “crimes against humanity” in a speech earlier this week.
“In the case of Russia’s actions in Ukraine, we have examined the evidence. We know the legal standards, and there is no doubt: these are crimes against humanity,” she explained. “The United States has formally determined that Russia has committed crimes against humanity.”
