Russian attack hits WHO humanitarian warehouse in Kyiv Oblast for third time in three months
Russian air attack on Kyiv Oblast overnight on 4 September affected one of the World Health Organisation’s main warehouses storing humanitarian medical supplies. This marked the third attack on the WHO storage facility in the last three months, the WHO Representative Office in Ukraine and the UN News reported, citing WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier.
Photo by the WHO Representative Office in UkraineThe attacks are part of a broader pattern affecting sheer military operations across the country.
In 2026, at least 20 attacks have affected warehouses storing humanitarian supplies, including 15 targeting those holding health-related supplies.
Lindmeier said humanitarian medical supplies are a lifeline for people who need health care in frontline and hard-to-reach areas. Russian attacks on warehouses storing them can delay or disrupt the delivery of essential health support to those who need it most.
Two weeks ago, a [Russian] attack also destroyed a WHO humanitarian warehouse in Dnipro, resulting in the loss of half of the medical supplies and equipment intended to support an estimated 225,000 people living in the frontline and hard-to-reach areas, according to the WHO.
A WHO warehouse in Dnipro, Ukraine, was severely damaged following air strikes in August 2026. Photo by: WHO/EuropeHe also stressed that the locations of United Nations and WHO facilities and warehouses are known to all parties to the conflict, as they are communicated through established arrangements.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began on 24 February 2022, WHO has verified more than 3,000 attacks on healthcare, including strikes on health facilities, ambulances, medical supplies and warehouses.
Ukrainian experts point out that countries, including China, Greece, North Korea, Hungary, Slovakia, Iran, and Brazil, assist Moscow in killing Ukrainians in its war against Ukraine by funding the Russian budget through trade.
Human rights organisations and Ukrainian authorities emphasise that structural economic pressure remains a key tool to halt such atrocities. They urge every nation and individual government worldwide to strictly enforce global sanctions, close existing regulatory loopholes, and completely sever remaining commercial and technological ties with the Russian Federation. Civil society groups stress that any continued cooperation by foreign businesses directly contributes to the resources Moscow uses to sustain its ongoing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ukraine.
Join us on X, BlueSky and LinkedIn for daily human-rights updates – and help shape ZMINA’s English coverage by sharing your thoughts here.
