Warehouses supplying the vast majority of Ukraine's pharmacies have been destroyed in a series of Russian attacks over recent months.
Medical supplies worth about $200 million (£145 million) were destroyed in just two strikes in December and October.
A large warehouse storing medicines in the city of Dnipro was struck on December 6, destroying approximately $110 million worth of medicines – an estimated 30% of Ukraine's monthly supply.
Dmytro Babenko, acting director-general of pharmaceutical distributor BADM, reported, It was a missile and drone strike against our facility. The missiles flew past, but the drones hit it, adding that the fire was impossible to contain.
BADM and another company, Optima Pharm, supply about 85% of Ukrainian pharmacies. The October attack on Optima Pharm's main storage facility in Kyiv cost the company over $100 million.
Despite Russia denying targeting civilians, officials claim that these attacks have deliberately disrupted healthcare access. The ramifications are severe: the International Rescue Committee (IRC) lost $195,000 in supplies, losing resources that could have served 30,000 people.
As a result, many health organizations are struggling to provide necessary care in Ukraine. Mr. Babenko remains hopeful that supplies could be restored within a month or a month-and-a-half, despite the devastation caused by ongoing strikes.
Ukrainian officials state that over 2,500 medical institutions have been damaged or destroyed since the onset of the war, with more than 500 medical workers killed. The World Health Organization has recorded 2,763 attacks on healthcare facilities since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, indicating a troubling trend in the escalating conflict.
