World Health Organisation, the UN’s children’s fund UNICEF and its population fund UNFPA have issued a joint statement calling for an immediate stop to attacks on healthcare in Ukraine.
“Today, we call for an immediate cessation of all attacks on health care in Ukraine,” they said.
“These horrific attacks are killing and causing serious injuries to patients and health workers, destroying vital health infrastructure and forcing thousands to forgo accessing health services despite catastrophic needs.”
Power has been restored to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which means cooling systems can operate normally and not have to use a backup system, according to Ukraine’s atomic energy ministry.
The ministry made the announcement in an online post. Ukraine had earlier warned of an increased risk of a radiation leak if a high-voltage power line to the plant were not repaired.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stepped outside his residence for the first time since war erupted to visit wounded soldiers in hospital and award medals.
“Get well. I wish you strength. You are great guys!” Zelenskyy is heard saying to the patients in a morale-boosting video posted on social media.
So far, pictures and footage of the president had shown him only in his office or official residence.
Russia has said the strike on a Ukrainian base in Yavoriv, near the Polish border, killed “up to 180 foreign mercenaries.” and destroyed a large amount of weapons supplied by outside nations.
Defence ministry spokesperson Igor Konashenkov told a briefing that Russia would continue its attacks against foreign citizens who had joined Kyiv’s army, which he called foreign mercenaries.
Ukrainian regional governor Maksym Kozytskyy earlier had provided a different death toll, saying 35 people had been killed.
Kurt Volker, a former UN ambassador to NATO, told Al Jazeera that the attack was a sign that Russian President Vladimir Putin was “getting more reckless.”
“He knows it was risky, just 20 kilometres north he could have hit Poland,” which is a NATO member, Volker said. “It’s reflecting a very dangerous and I think a very desperate state of mind.”
