Russian forces damage WHO warehouse in Kyiv Oblast

Russian forces have reportedly damaged one of the World Health Organisation’s main warehouses in Ukraine during an overnight attack on the Boryspil district of Kyiv Oblast, the WHO said.

The warehouse stores humanitarian medical supplies, but access to the facility remained restricted due to heavy smoke and safety concerns. The WHO said it was still assessing the extent of the damage and any losses of medical supplies. No WHO staff members were injured in the attack.

The organisation said it had deliberately kept only limited quantities of humanitarian medical supplies at the warehouse because of the security situation. It added that alternative storage facilities had already been identified. “WHO continues to work to ensure the timely delivery of essential medical assistance to people across Ukraine,” the organisation said.

The attack came amid continued Russian strikes on medical and humanitarian infrastructure in Ukraine. On the night of September 2-3, Russian forces also damaged the Biocon logistics complex in Boryspil district, one of the country’s largest pharmaceutical warehouses. Earlier in August, a Russian attack destroyed a WHO humanitarian warehouse in Dnipro that held medical supplies intended for healthcare facilities in combat-affected areas. WHO staff managed to evacuate fewer than half of the pallets from the facility before the attack.