WHO documents Russian attacks against 21 Ukraine health care facilities; West condemns

A Russian airstrike on a maternity hospital within the Ukrainian metropolis of Mariupol killed three individuals on Wednesday, the most recent instance of practically two dozen assaults on Ukrainian well being care services since Russian forces invaded the nation final month, in keeping with the World Well being Group. 

A dozen individuals have died and 34 individuals have been injured in 21 assaults on well being care services over the previous three weeks, WHO reviews. 5 further assaults impacted both ambulances or well being care personnel.

The assault towards the hospital in Mariupol killed a baby and two adults, and injured 17 others, in keeping with Ukrainian officers. Photographs of the aftermath confirmed pregnant ladies coated in mud and blood as they have been assisted by emergency staff out of the wreckage. 

Western and Ukrainian authorities denounced the assault as a struggle crime. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned Russia’s “unconscionable assaults harming inhabitants facilities,” whereas French President Emmanuel Macron referred to as it “a shameful and immoral act of struggle.”

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy referred to as the assault an atrocity and urged Western leaders to implement a no-fly zone. 

“An aerial bomb on a maternity hospital is the conclusive proof that what is going on is a genocide of Ukrainians,” Zelenskyy mentioned. 

Dmitry Polyanskiy, Russia’s everlasting consultant to the United Nations, didn’t deny that the hospital was struck however mentioned it had been “became a army object by radicals.” Russian International Minister Sergey Lavrov referred to as the outrage over civilian casualties “pathetic shrieks” on Wednesday. 

A Russian ballistic missile struck close to a hospital in Vuhledar on Feb. 24, killing 4 civilians and injuring 10 others, together with six well being care staff, in keeping with Human Rights Watch. The hospital, an ambulance, and civilian automobiles have been additionally broken within the assault. 

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The invasion of Ukraine will not be the primary time that Russian forces have focused hospitals. The Russian Air Power bombed 4 Syrian hospitals in at some point in Might 2019, in keeping with a New York Instances investigation. 

The Geneva Conventions prohibit assaults towards medical personnel and support staff. 

“Assaults on well being care violate [international] legislation [and] endanger lives. Even in occasions of battle, we should shield the sanctity & security of well being care, a elementary human proper,” the World Well being Group mentioned this week. 

No less than 549 civilians, together with 41 youngsters, have been killed since Russia invaded on Feb. 24, in keeping with the United Nations, however they famous that the precise quantity is probably going a lot greater. Almost 1,000 different civilians have been injured.

The Worldwide Legal Court docket has launched an investigation into doable struggle crimes in Ukraine. 

The Related Press contributed to this report.