Russia destroys three WHO warehouses in Ukraine over three months: organisation "deeply concerned"

Russian forces have destroyed three humanitarian warehouses belonging to the World Health Organization (WHO) in Ukraine over the past three months, including one of its main warehouses. Medical supplies intended for frontline and hard-to-reach areas were damaged as a result.

Source: WHO Regional Office for Europe (WHO/Europe)

Details: The WHO/Europe attributed the destruction of the warehouses to airstrikes, but did not mention that Russia was responsible.

Meanwhile, the organisation said one of the incidents occurred on 3 September, when Russian forces struck one of the country's largest pharmaceutical warehouses – the Biocon logistics complex in the Boryspil district of Kyiv Oblast.

The WHO also mentioned the destruction of a humanitarian warehouse in Dnipro in early August. Half of the medical supplies and equipment stored there, which were intended to assist approximately 225,000 people in frontline and hard-to-reach areas, were lost in the attack.

Another warehouse in Kyiv Oblast used by the WHO was damaged during a large-scale wave of Russian attacks on the capital and the oblast in July.

"When humanitarian warehouses storing critical supplies are attacked, the impact goes far beyond the loss of buildings or equipment. It can delay or disrupt the delivery of essential health support to people who need it most. Right now, our teams are spending valuable time and resources moving supplies from site to site to keep them safe; time and resources that should go into delivering health care, not protecting it from attack. We are deeply concerned by the growing pattern of attacks on health in Ukraine, including on humanitarian storage facilities," said Silviu Domente, WHO Representative to Ukraine, without naming the aggressor.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, at least 20 warehouses storing humanitarian supplies have come under attack in 2026. In addition, the WHO has confirmed 15 attacks on warehouses storing medical supplies.

The organisation said it continues to work with Ukraine's Ministry of Health and other partners across the country despite the attacks. In particular, alternative ways of storing medical supplies have already been found following the latest strikes.

Quote from Domente: "We will continue to do everything we can to keep humanitarian health support moving across Ukraine. I also want to express my deepest gratitude to Ukraine's health-care workers, who continue to provide care to their communities with extraordinary courage and resilience, despite the enormous challenges they face every day."

Details: According to the WHO, this year the organisation has provided equipment and medical supplies to more than 300 facilities across the country, reaching approximately 3 million people.

Background:

• In a single attack on the night of 1-2 June, Russian forces damaged five medical facilities in Kyiv.
• As of May, Russian forces had carried out more than 3,000 attacks on Ukraine's healthcare system.

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