UKRAINE, KHARKIV, Jul. 27 — Since 2022, Russian forces destroyed 328 ambulances in Ukraine, Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine’s ombudsman, said.

Jul. 27 is Healthcare Workers’ Day in Ukraine. Lubinets said that Ukrainian medics face several challenges, including those caused by the war.

The ombudsman said that Russian attacks completely destroyed 331 and damaged 836 medical institutions in Ukraine.

Lubinets said that the Ombudsman’s Office inspected 25 medical institutions and only four of them have shelters that comply with the requirements.

Lubinets said about the problem of insufficient funding for the healthcare system in Ukraine, including salary arrears totaling more than $153,000. He also mentioned the shortage of nurses and other healthcare staff, which sometimes reaches 25–30%.

The ombudsman mentioned inadequate safety measures for medical personnel.

In March, a Russian drone hit an ambulance in the Kupiansk district of Kharkiv oblast, killing two medical workers and injuring a third. Their relatives, along with many people on social media, claimed emergency medical teams don’t have sufficient protective equipment for missions to frontline areas.

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