Russia must stop its attacks against first responders and healthcare facilities: UK statement to OSCE
Ambassador Holland condemns Russia's attacks against healthcare workers and facilities, including "double tap" strikes, in Ukraine.
Thank you, Madam Chair. This week marks the 80th anniversary of the mass deportation of Crimean Tatars by the Soviet regime which began on 18 May 1944. Over the course of a few days 200,000 people were forced from the peninsula. Thousands died due to starvation and disease and those that survived were subjected to hardships and repression in the exile that followed.
Crimean Tatars continue to be persecuted to this day. After Crimean Tatars were permitted to return to their homeland, Russia subsequently illegally annexed Crimea in 2014. Since then, Ukrainians have endured a brutal and systematic campaign of human rights abuses and violations conducted by the Russian authorities. And Crimean Tatars have borne the brunt of this aggression over the course of 10 years. So, today we remember Crimean Tatar victims of persecution at the hands of their own authorities, both historic and contemporary.
Madam Chair, in recent months we have seen an alarming increase in Russia’s use of secondary – or “double tap” – strikes, that deliberately target emergency service workers and first responders.
The World Health Organisation has verified over 1,000 attacks on health care facilities or professionals in Ukraine since February 2022; more than 60% of all such attacks worldwide in that period.
In 2024 alone, there have been over 110 attacks on healthcare workers across Ukraine, resulting in 11 deaths and 45 injuries of workers and patients. Russia’s disturbing tactics impact on the provision of critical medical care which has already sustained substantial damage in some areas.
Just last month, on 3 April, three rescue workers in Kharkiv were killed in a secondary strike by Russian drones. Similar casualties were incurred again in Kharkiv and in Zaporizhzhia on 4 and 5 April. Medical and first responders of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine were killed or injured using the same tactic.
And Russia continues to attack healthcare facilities. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that aid and medical facilities were hit in Russian airstrikes on 5 and 6 April in Zaporizhzhia and Donetska.
So, we call on Russia to live up to its responsibilities to protect civilians, aid workers, medical staff and first responders in accordance with international humanitarian law.
And, we pay tribute to the bravery of Ukrainians, their armed forces and their medical and first responders. The United Kingdom is, and will remain, steadfast in its commitment to - and support for - Ukraine in the face of Russia’s act of aggression. Thank you.