The World – February 4, 2023

A confrontation occurred between the United States and Russia

On Saturday, the World Health Organization (who) reported on the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, as Moscow said it was politically motivated, while Washington called for its speedy update.

The report of WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was presented to the WHO Executive Board, whose members include Russia and the United States.

The report covered events in the first nine months of 2022 and ranked the situation in Ukraine, which was invaded by Russia on February 24, as one of eight acute health emergencies globally.

The report documented civilian casualties of more than 14 thousand dead and injured, with 17.7 million people in need of humanitarian assistance and 7.5 million displaced Ukrainian refugees across Europe.

According to the WHO report, of the 471 attacks with heavy weapons on healthcare facilities worldwide, 448 occurred in Ukraine.

The representative of Russia in the WHO Executive Board said that the report is politically motivated and relies on a one-sided narrative, and called the Ukrainian information on which the report was based as unfounded accusations.

Moscow has denied targeting civilians in Ukraine since it launched what it describes as a special military operation that has led to the destruction of Ukrainian cities, the fall of thousands of fighters and the disruption of the global economy.

In turn, Sheba Crocker, the US ambassador to the UN, called for updating the report to document the incidents in Ukraine since September.

“Russian attacks... have caused untold damage to civilians and vital infrastructure in Ukraine,”she informed the Executive Council during its meeting, according to a statement from her office.

“This death and destruction deprives children, the elderly and other vulnerable groups of access to vital health care,”Crocker added.