Russian propagandists continue their attempts to discredit Ukraine’s Defense Forces and justify their own crimes by blaming the Ukrainian side. This time, hostile Telegram channels spread claims that the Ukrainian Armed Forces allegedly are deliberately targeting ambulances in Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions.
With the support of the USAID Health Reform Support project, VoxCheck analyzes and refutes public health narratives spread in the information space of Ukraine, Belarus, and russia on a weekly basis.
Russian Telegram channels spread the news that allegedly within just one week, the Ukrainian Armed Forces deliberately attacked ambulances three times in Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions. This accusation was made by Rodion Miroshnik, a special envoy for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
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What’s the reality?
Russian propaganda once again employs the “mirroring” tactic, accusing Ukraine of crimes that Russia itself commits to distract attention. Ukraine targets enemy military facilities, including airfields, ammunition depots, oil refineries, and defense enterprises. The Defense Forces do not strike residential buildings, hospitals, schools, or other civilian infrastructure in Russia or in temporarily occupied territories.
Russia, however, daily bombards Ukrainian civilian infrastructure, including medical facilities. According to the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the enemy has damaged 1,878 healthcare facilities and completely destroyed 289. Additionally, since the start of the war, Russia has damaged 235 emergency medical vehicles, destroyed 264, and seized 125 ambulances.
Meanwhile, the restoration of medical infrastructure continues. In various regions of Ukraine, 935 healthcare facilities have been fully or partially restored.
Source: Ministry of Health of Ukraine
Russian crimes against Ukraine’s medical infrastructure have also been documented by international organizations. Monitoring by the World Health Organization (WHO) shows that since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Russia has carried out 2,177 attacks on Ukraine’s medical system. The organization noted that since December 2023, such attacks have occurred almost daily. This is the highest number ever recorded in any humanitarian emergency worldwide.
In contrast, there is no evidence that Ukraine targets medical infrastructure in Russia or in temporarily occupied territories.
This information piece was produced with the assistance of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), provided on behalf of the people of the United States of America. This article’s content, which does not necessarily reflect the views of USAID, the United States Government, is the sole responsibility of Deloitte Consulting under contract #72012118C00001.
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