A total of 1,940 attacks against health services facilities in Ukraine have been recorded since the beginning of the Russian offensive in February 2022, the European branch of the World Health Organization reported.
The WHO said attacks on a number of facilities, equipment and personnel had intensified and the number of victims had increased since December 2023.
"This is the highest number WHO has recorded in any global humanitarian emergency to date," it said in a statement.
The UN agency noted that the attacks had become increasingly horrific.
"Last year, 24 deaths among healthcare workers and patients were documented, but in the first 7.5 months of 2024, a total of 34 people died from attacks on healthcare," the WHO said.
A total of 166 people have been killed and 514 injured in attacks on health care since the start of the conflict.
On World Humanitarian Day, the United Nations condemned the "unacceptable" level of violence becoming commonplace against aid workers, a record 280 of whom were killed worldwide in 2023.
He warned that the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza was potentially fueling even more such deaths this year. | BGNES
