WHO says Russian strikes destroyed more than $1.5 million of UN health supplies in Ukraine

The World Health Organization (WHO), the UN health agency, says Russian attacks have destroyed more than $1.5 million worth of medicines and supplies in four separate strikes on warehouses used by the UN in Ukraine since July. UN News, the organisation's own news service, reported the figures. The warehouses were used by the UN, so the UN is reporting damage to its own operations.

WHO says four warehouses it uses were hit in three months, and three of them were destroyed. According to WHO, 21 warehouses have been targeted this year, out of a total of 400 incidents. UN News reports that almost all of those incidents involved heavy weapons, which it lists as firearms, tanks, missiles, bombs and mortars.

WHO says it has verified more than 3,300 attacks on health care since the full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022. According to data compiled by the agency, 247 people have been killed. More than 1,090 health workers and patients have been injured. WHO says the attacks include strikes on hospitals, ambulances, warehouses and other medical infrastructure.

Sarah Tyler, a WHO communications officer, told UN News what she saw at hospitals and warehouses that had been attacked. “When you stand in those places, you really understand what the numbers mean.” She said the health workers she met keep caring for patients under heavy pressure.

Dr Ihor Perehinets, WHO Regional Emergency and Health Security Director, said the harm goes beyond damaged buildings. He said that when warehouses and other humanitarian sites are hit, medicines, medical equipment, laboratory reagents and other essential supplies can be lost, disrupting “the support that health facilities need to treat patients”. He said Ukraine’s health workers face “extraordinary pressure” while they continue to deliver care.

UN News also reported on wider Russian attacks across Ukraine in the same period. It said strikes overnight killed at least three people in Kyiv and left hundreds of thousands without power. It said this came despite President Trump’s announcement of an “energy ceasefire” between Russia and Ukraine. It reported that another Russian attack, in Zaporizhzhia over the weekend, killed more than 20 people, including four children. The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) spoke of the “unimaginable loss” for families and said the violence “must not become the new normal”.

WHO’s support in Ukraine includes emergency response, trauma care, medical supplies, energy resilience, and preparing the country to manage chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear incidents. Its 2026 appeal for Ukraine seeks $42 million to support 700,000 people. WHO says continued funding is needed to sustain emergency health operations, restore access to essential services and replace medical supplies.

The source items leave several things out. They do not say where the four warehouses are, or when each was hit. They do not explain how WHO verifies attacks. They carry no response from Russia. They do not report any action by the Security Council. This paper cannot check the figures. They are WHO’s, as relayed by UN News.