At the start of the conflict, the images of the Mariupol maternity hospital, devastated by the bombardments of the Russian army, shocked the international community. Two months later, at least 200 attacks have already targeted Ukrainian health facilities since the start of the conflict, World Health Organization officials said on Saturday, calling the assaults “war crimes”.
“These attacks are used as part of the tactic of war, to terrorize communities, to take away the hope that people have for the future, that’s the goal,” said Mike Ryan, executive director of the program. WHO health emergency, at a UN press conference. According to him, intentional attacks against health establishments violate international humanitarian law.
“How many accidents can you have? »
The official also expressed skepticism that a significant number of strikes could have been unintentional. “We have to ask ourselves the question: how many accidents can you have before you are in a situation where it is completely and totally unacceptable? “, he questioned.
Hospitals and healthcare workers have been in the crosshairs since Russia invaded Ukraine in February. The most striking event is undoubtedly the bombing of the Mariupol pediatric hospital and two maternity wards, at the beginning of last March, which killed at least three people, including a little girl.
At the time, Moscow had no hesitation in lying and using the victims, notably by assuring that one of the victims had not died and that she was in fact an actress paid by the Ukrainian government, which has since been denied.