Key points:
- ‘Médecins Sans Frontières’ presented a report entitled ‘No Place to Hide’ to the European Parliament, detailing attacks on medical facilities in Ukraine.
- Between April 2022 and December 2025, the organisation recorded more than 20 attacks on hospitals that were supporting its teams.
- Staff have been evacuated from eight hospitals; four buildings have been completely destroyed, including facilities in Kostyantynivka and Pokrovsk.
- FPV drones have become the main cause of injuries to patients; the number of multiple fractures and amputations has tripled.
- З 2023 року почастішали подвійні удари, через що бригади швидкої чекають 35–45 хвилин перед виїздом на місце.
- The organisation holds Russia largely responsible for the destruction of the healthcare system and calls for compliance with international humanitarian law.
The international humanitarian organisation ‘Médecins Sans Frontières’ presented a report entitled ‘No Place to Run’ to the European Parliament, which details the Russian army’s systematic attacks on medical facilities in Ukraine. Representatives of the organisation called for an end to the shelling of hospitals and for compliance with the norms of international humanitarian law.
Christopher Stokes, the organisation’s senior humanitarian adviser, reported that between April 2022 and December 2025, Médecins Sans Frontières teams documented more than 20 attacks on medical facilities that they were directly supporting. Staff had to be evacuated from eight of the hospitals where the organisation was operating, and four buildings were completely destroyed. Stokes specifically mentioned the projects in Kostiantynivka and Pokrovsk, where the hospitals no longer exist. He was familiar with some of these facilities from his own work experience.
The speaker drew particular attention to the growing threat posed by FPV drones, whose operators select their targets in real time. The majority of injuries treated by the organisation’s medical staff are caused by collisions with drones. The number of multiple fractures and amputations has tripled, most commonly affecting fingers and hands, as people instinctively shield themselves with their hands. Combating infections arising from numerous puncture wounds caused by debris entering patients’ bodies remains a major challenge.
According to the organisation’s observations, since 2023 there has been an increase in ‘double strikes’ in Ukraine, where a second attack hits the same spot as the first. This scenario affects the timeliness of medical care — ambulance crews often have to wait 35–45 minutes before reaching the scene. Teams work in hospitals with reinforced concrete walls, face restrictions on their movements and sometimes live in medical facilities for two weeks at a time without leaving the premises. Stokes emphasised that the regularity of strikes in the areas where medical staff operate makes their work in hospitals and ambulances extremely dangerous.
The organisation holds Russia largely responsible for the destruction of Ukraine’s healthcare system. ‘Médecins Sans Frontières’ insists on the protection of hospitals, ambulances, operating theatres, rehabilitation centres and care facilities for vulnerable groups in Ukraine.
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