WHO humanitarian warehouse destroyed in Dnipro as overnight strikes kill five across Ukraine and Russia
A WHO humanitarian medical warehouse in Dnipro was struck and destroyed on Friday, with staff managing to evacuate 130 of roughly 300 pallets before the attack. Overnight strikes across Ukraine and Russia killed at least five civilians on day 1,627 of the conflict.
WHO warehouse destroyed in Dnipro
A WHO humanitarian warehouse in Dnipro, in central-eastern Ukraine, was struck and destroyed on Friday, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced on X on Sunday 9 August. A WHO staff member and drivers had visited the site earlier in the day and managed to evacuate 130 of approximately 300 pallets before leaving the area ahead of the attack. The warehouse contained humanitarian medical supplies destined for frontline health facilities, primarily WHO emergency supplies. No casualties were reported at the time of the announcement. The WHO records attacks on health facilities worldwide but, in accordance with its rules, does not attribute responsibility for them. The destroyed supplies were intended for health facilities serving communities near the front line.
- Russian invasion of Ukraine begins
- WHO humanitarian warehouse in Dnipro struck and destroyed
- Tedros announces destruction on X; overnight strikes kill 2 in Kharkiv, 3 in Belgorod, wound 8 in Odesa
3,148 attacks on healthcare recorded since February 2022
Since the Russian invasion on 24 February 2022, the WHO has recorded 3,148 attacks on healthcare services in Ukraine, the vast majority involving the use of heavy weapons. Of these, 2,567 targeted health facilities, 71 hit warehouses, and 645 affected the provisioning of medical supplies. These attacks have killed 240 people and wounded 1,055. The Dnipro warehouse strike is the latest in this series of documented attacks on medical infrastructure in Ukraine.
- Health facilities
- 2567
- Warehouses
- 71
- Medical supply provisioning
- 645
Tedros and MSF denounce attacks on healthcare
Tedros condemned the continuing strikes on medical infrastructure in strong terms on social media.
I cannot say this with enough force: attacks on health services MUST STOP. Otherwise, people are deprived of vital care.
Even wars have rules. One of them is that health must be protected.
Last month, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) condemned what it described as a deliberate strategy by Russia aimed at destroying the healthcare system in Ukraine, documenting a consistent pattern of attacks since the beginning of the war. MSF said Moscow has launched "relentless attacks on health facilities and medical personnel in Ukraine."
This appears to constitute a deliberate strategy aimed at destroying the healthcare system and collectively punishing the population.
Overnight strikes and front developments
On the 1,627th day of the conflict, overnight strikes caused civilian casualties on both sides. The conflict has caused more civilian deaths this year, according to the UN. A Russian drone strike in Kharkiv, a large city in north-eastern Ukraine, killed two people and "destroyed four floors of an ordinary residential building," according to President Volodymyr Zelensky on social media. Regional governor Oleg Synegoubov reported 23 wounded. Images shared by Synegoubov showed a gutted building with emergency services working around it. In Russia, a Ukrainian drone attack on the city of Belgorod, near the border, killed three people, according to acting governor Alexandre Chouvaïev. He said 25 people were wounded, including children aged 4 and 9. Eight people were also wounded overnight in Odesa, per the Ukrainian president. The Russian army claimed on Sunday to have seized two small villages in the Ukrainian region. Zelensky also stated that up to 50,000 North Korean soldiers have been deployed in Russia, according to Ouest France.
