DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS (MSF) has condemned a Russian missile attack that completely destroyed its office building in the Ukrainian region of Donetsk. 

At approximately 3:15 am, the medical NGO’s building was struck and five people were injured, including security staff, and MSF spokesperson said.

As a result, MSF said it has suspended its medical humanitarian activities in the Donetsk region temporarily, except supporting emergency care and ambulance referral services.
 
“This act of violence against a humanitarian organisation cannot be brushed off as just another casualty of war,” says Vincenzo Porpiglia, emergency coordinator for MSF in Ukraine.

“Attacks on any facility where humanitarian staff work not only jeopardize the safety of our staff but also hinder the provision of lifesaving care to those in need.”  

MSF’s security staff member, Eduard Marchenko, who was inside the office when the attack occurred, was injured. “I was in the living room when the blast lifted me up and threw me like a wave to the ground.”

Marchenko was diagnosed with a contusion and a skull injury. He was treated and is recovering.

Four people who were near the building at the time of the attack sustained injuries, including a 14-year-old boy. They received medical aid and did not need hospitalisation, MSF said. 

Our office in Pokrovsk was also our pharmacy and logistical centre for equipment and cars. This is not an isolated incident for MSF. There were two attacks in November 2023 on MSF-supported hospitals in Kherson and Selydove.

Zaporizhzhia

Another Russian strike, this time in the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia has killed at least four people and wounded another 20, the regional governor has said.

An earlier report by regional governor Ivan Fedorov on Telegram said that three people were dead and another 13 wounded.

Ukrainian authorities said that Russia had carried out a double strike, which involves bombing a location first, then timing a second attack on the same site for when emergency services arrive.

“Two missiles were fired first, then 40 minutes later another hit the same target as the rescuers and police began working” said Fedorov in a video.

Two journalists were among the injured, he said.

A day earlier three Ukrainian rescue workers died in a double strike on the north eastern city of Kharkiv.

President Volodymyr Zelensky called the bombing “despicable”.

Includes reporting from © AFP 2024