The humanitarian organization “Doctors Without Borders“ has accused Russia of deliberately targeting medical facilities in Ukraine. On Monday, July 13, the organization, citing its own investigation, reported that attacks on the healthcare system and medical personnel in Ukraine are part of a “targeted strategy“.
“These strikes are too systematic, too frequent and too precise to be random“, said Robin Meldrum, the coordinator of “Doctors Without Borders“ in Ukraine. According to him, when hospitals are repeatedly hit or ambulances are attacked with drones, this is a “regularity“, behind which there is an intention.
"No Safe Place to Heal"
According to the report, titled “No Safe Place to Heal“, between April 2022 and December 2025, more than 20 medical facilities that “Doctors Without Borders“ serves or supports were attacked. At the beginning of the full-scale Russian aggression, the attack on a maternity hospital in Mariupol became the leading news.
Four hospitals where the organization worked were destroyed, and seven emergency care points were forced to cease operations. Many of the remaining facilities are currently critically understaffed. The threat from so-called FPV drones, which allow the operator to select the target in real time, is also growing. This is the case of September 2025, when a medical team in a clearly marked vehicle was attacked in the Donetsk region.
The total number of attacks on Ukraine's healthcare system since the beginning of the war is 2,815. In the majority of these cases, heavy weapons were used, 224 people were killed and 902 were injured, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported in turn. It has documented the attacks, but those responsible for them are not named, Euronews writes.
Appeal to the international community
A targeted attack on medical personnel or transport is a war crime under international humanitarian law, emphasizes “Doctors Without Borders“ and in this regard, they recall that ten years ago the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 2286, condemning attacks on medical facilities, personnel and patients.
“States that have influence over Russia should use it to achieve an end to attacks on medical facilities“, the humanitarian organization also insists.