Destructive Russian Strikes Devastate Ukraine's Medical Supplies

Sat Dec 13 2025 21:50:51 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

In a significant escalation of hostilities, Russia's recent airstrikes have targeted crucial medical warehouses in Ukraine, resulting in the destruction of over $200 million worth of medical supplies. This attack poses severe challenges to the health sector as the country continues to face ongoing conflict.

Recent Russian airstrikes in Ukraine have devastated major medical supply warehouses, resulting in the loss of approximately $200 million worth of medical supplies. The attacks have critically affected healthcare access for many Ukrainians amidst a prolonged conflict. Authorities report significant damage to the healthcare infrastructure, complicating the treatment of injured and sick individuals across the nation.

Warehouses supplying the vast majority of Ukraine's pharmacies have been destroyed in a series of Russian attacks over recent months.

Medical supplies worth about $200m (£145m) were destroyed in just two strikes in December and October.

A large warehouse storing medicines in the city of Dnipro was destroyed in a Russian air strike on 6 December, resulting in the loss of around $110m worth of medicines—estimated to be up to 30% of Ukraine's monthly supply.

It was a missile and drone strike against our facility. The missiles flew past, but the drones hit it, said Dmytro Babenko, acting director-general of pharmaceutical distributor BADM.

They caused a fire which unfortunately proved impossible to contain, leading to the whole facility being destroyed.

BADM is one of two companies that supply about 85% of Ukrainian pharmacies. The other company, Optima Pharm, has also been targeted, with its warehouses attacked three times this year—scraping a significant portion of its supply.

On the same day BADM's warehouse was destroyed, Russia claimed to have targeted military equipment, while denying attacks on civilian infrastructure.

The International Rescue Committee (IRC), which utilized the Dnipro warehouse, reported a loss of $195,000 worth of medication and supplies, which could have served 30,000 people in need. This destructive incident complicates treatment plans for many sick and wounded in Ukraine.

As the conflict grinds on, Ukrainian authorities accuse Russia of intentionally targeting critical healthcare facilities, leading to the devastation of over 2,500 medical institutions and the deaths of more than 500 medical personnel.

Statistics from the World Health Organization show that Ukraine's healthcare system has experienced 2,763 attacks since the escalation of hostilities in 2022, with a notable surge reported in 2025.

Despite the daunting challenges ahead, Babenko remains hopeful about restoring supplies in a timely fashion, indicating that shortages may only occur for specific types of goods.