Russia has destroyed nearly 400 hospitals in Ukraine: President Volodymyr Zelensky

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday said that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has devastated hundreds of hospitals and other institutions and left doctors without drugs to tackle cancer or the ability to perform surgery.

In a video address to a medical charity group, the Ukrainian President said many places lacked even basic antibiotics in eastern and southern Ukraine, the focal points of the fighting.

Also read: UN chief Antonio Guterres says Russia-Ukraine war can cause ‘limitless’ global harm

“If you consider just medical infrastructure, as of today Russian troops have destroyed or damaged nearly 400 healthcare institutions: hospitals, maternity wards, outpatient clinics,” the Ukrainian President told the gathering.

In areas occupied by Russian forces, he said, the situation was catastrophic.

Also read: Fiji seizes $300M yacht of Russian Oligarch Suleiman Kerimov at US’ request

“This amounts to a complete lack of medication for cancer patients. It means extreme difficulties or a complete lack of insulin for diabetes. It is impossible to carry out surgery. It even means, quite simply, a lack of antibiotics.”

Meanwhile, the Kremlin has said that it has targeted only military or strategic sites.

Also read: Why is Russia attacking Ukraine’s railway network? Explained

In one of the most widely denounced acts of the war, a maternity hospital was all but destroyed on March 9 in the city of Mariupol.

Russia alleged pictures of the attack were staged and said the site had been used by armed Ukrainian groups.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, the Pentagon said a majority of Russian forces are believed to have left the key port city of Mariupol in Ukraine after weeks of no-holds barred assault in the area which left once-a-thriving city damaged and devastated.

Also read: Putin apologizes for FM Lavrov’s comment on Hitler having ‘Jewish blood’

It is reported that one of the most recent concerns was the evacuation of civilians from the Azovstal steel plant as Kyiv kept highlighting concerns.

While the war is in its tenth week, the UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres has yet again urged the world to unite and end the conflict. He called the war “senseless”, “ruthless” and “limitless in its potential for global harm” in his latest comments.