Once a constant fixture on news bulletins and front pages, Russia’s war in Ukraine has largely slipped from the global spotlight. Yet while media attention has waned, the destruction of Ukraine’s healthcare system has continued at an alarming pace.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has verified more than 3,000 attacks on healthcare since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022, documenting repeated strikes on hospitals, clinics, ambulances, health workers and medical supplies through its Surveillance System for Attacks on Health Care. Around 80% of verified attacks have targeted healthcare facilities, disrupting essential services and placing both patients and health professionals at constant risk.
“Every one of these attacks is a violation of international humanitarian law, and every one represents a patient who couldn’t be reached, a health worker in danger, a community left without care,” WHO Regional Director for Europe Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge said. “This cannot be normalised.”
The WHO says attacks are increasing rather than diminishing, reporting that attacks on healthcare rose by almost 20% during 2025 compared with the previous year, while health services continue to face pressure from both direct attacks and repeated strikes on civilian infrastructure, including power systems essential for hospital operations.
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has witnessed these consequences firsthand. According to its latest report, there were more than 20 attacks on medical facilities it supported or worked alongside between April 2022 and December 2025. Eight hospitals were forced to evacuate, four of which were subsequently destroyed, while seven ambulance bases were abandoned. One MSF staff member and one partner staff member were wounded in targeted attacks, and two MSF offices were damaged or destroyed.
The deteriorating security situation has also severely restricted humanitarian access. In eastern and southern Ukraine, MSF has lost access to more than 80 villages across six regions where it had previously delivered primary healthcare through mobile clinics, leaving thousands of people with limited or no access to essential medical services.
The impact extends well beyond damaged buildings. According to the latest figures from the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, nearly 15,000 civilians have been killed and more than 40,000 injured since Russia’s full-scale invasion began. Civilian casualties increased by 30% in 2025 compared with 2024, underscoring the escalating human cost of the conflict.
MSF teams continue to treat patients injured by artillery and missile strikes and, increasingly, by drone attacks in urban and semi-urban areas. The widespread use of drones has changed the pattern of injuries clinicians are managing, with patients presenting with multiple complex wounds and fractures, alongside higher rates of wound infection and sepsis. In some hospitals, repeated mass casualty incidents have forced emergency departments to activate major incident and triage protocols several times within a single week.
The war has also created a growing burden of indirect casualties. Damage to health infrastructure, insecurity and the displacement of healthcare workers have severely disrupted access to routine and emergency care. An MSF survey of civilians living in frontline and near-frontline regions found that access to healthcare has effectively halved since the escalation in hostilities, while the proportion of people who could rarely or never obtain medical care increased fivefold. Delayed treatment is contributing to preventable illness and death, particularly among people with chronic conditions such as cardiovascular disease, where timely intervention is often critical.
This year marks the tenth anniversary of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2286, which reaffirmed the protection of medical personnel, patients and healthcare infrastructure during armed conflict. A decade later, WHO continues to verify attacks on healthcare almost daily, highlighting the gulf between international humanitarian law and the reality facing Ukraine’s health system. Protecting healthcare is not simply a legal obligation it is fundamental to preserving civilian life during war.
