United for Justice: the conference discussed numerous attacks by the enemy army on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure and russia's responsibility
A top-level conference, United for Justice. Accountability for the Attacks against Civilian Objects, dedicated to the numerous russian attacks on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure, including medical facilities took place in Kyiv. The event was attended by representatives of the European Union institutions, the International Criminal Court, the Advisory Group on the Most Serious International Crimes, leading experts in international law, European attorneys general, Ukrainian government officials, etc.
The main goal of the conference is to raise awareness of the scale of Russia's attacks against Ukraine. It will also coordinate efforts to restore international law and order in the context of a full-scale war, discuss a strategy for further action, and bring all those responsible for international crimes to justice.
“For more than two years of full-scale war, Russia has been deliberately committing crimes and violating all norms of international humanitarian law, including the Geneva Convention. The enemy has been deliberately attacking and bombing Ukrainian hospitals, outpatient clinics, maternity clinics, and outpatient centers, causing numerous damage to the medical system. We see examples of this in almost every region. 715 medical facilities across Ukraine have been damaged or destroyed. russia is trying to destroy not only our hospitals, but also attack our ambulances and pharmacies, take away medical equipment and medicines, kill and terrorize civilians. This conference has brought together representatives of various institutions, both Ukrainian and international, to work together to ensure that all crimes committed by the russian occupiers are thoroughly documented and investigated. We will do everything possible to ensure that every russian invader is punished and brought to justice.”
To date, 1877 medical facilities have been damaged and/or destroyed as a result of russia's numerous attacks against Ukraine. Of these, 1657 medical facilities have been damaged and another 220 have been destroyed beyond repair. The most severely damaged medical facilities were located in Kharkiv, Donetsk, Mykolaiv, Kyiv, Chernihiv, Dnipro, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts. It is currently impossible to obtain information on the extent of damage to hospitals in the temporarily occupied territories.
russia also damaged 876 pharmacies and destroyed 67. In addition, since the beginning of the war, Russia has been destroying and damaging ambulances. At least one out of five ambulances has been damaged. To date, the damage and losses caused by russia to Ukraine's medical infrastructure are enormous and amount to at least $7 billion.
The Minister of Health of Ukraine also said that since the beginning of February 24, 2022, russia has killed more than 100 civilian medical workers.
“The cost of restoring our healthcare system is very high. However, we understand that the healthcare system is first and foremost about people, our doctors, who came to their workplaces from the first day of the full-scale war and continued to vaccinate, treat, save, and put their patients back on their feet. They continue to do so now. Unfortunately, more than 100 doctors were brutally killed by Russia when it deliberately shelled and attacked our hospitals. During one of the recent attacks on Kharkiv, 21-year-old Yevhen Yurko, a 4th-year student at Kharkiv National Medical University, was killed. He had been working as an emergency medical assistant since August 2023. On September 1, the medic, as part of an emergency team, arrived at the scene to provide first aid to the victims. A few minutes later, the terrorists struck again. Unfortunately, there are many such stories. And Russia must be held accountable for all these crimes.”
The Minister of Health also emphasized that international support and assistance to Ukraine is very important. Thanks to the conference, Ukraine has another unique opportunity to attract and focus the attention of the international community on the crimes that russia continues to commit daily. In addition, the event will help to consolidate sustained international support for the further recovery, reconstruction, and reform of the Ukrainian medical system despite the war.