Published on: 2026-09-30
Source: United Nations – Объединенные Нации –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
September 29, 2026 Healthcare
Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion, healthcare facilities in Ukraine have regularly come under attack. Hospitals, maternity wards, children’s medical institutions, and primary care centers have sustained damage not only in frontline regions but also in major cities across the country.
In an interview with the UN News Service, Galina Skipalskaya, Executive Director of the Ukrainian Public Health Foundation and Country Director of HealthRight International, spoke about how the Ukrainian healthcare system operates amid ongoing attacks, how humanitarian organizations support medical institutions, and why psychological assistance is as important as treatment for physical injuries. Both organizations are partners of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
According to Skipalskaya, thanks to the support of international partners, hospitals and primary care facilities as a whole are better prepared for the upcoming winter than in previous years.
UN News Service: The war has generated enormous problems in healthcare, especially for vulnerable groups – women, children, and displaced persons. From your point of view, what healthcare needs are the most urgent today?
GS: Speaking about the needs of Ukrainians at the present time, I would emphasize that these problems affect not only people living near the front line, but also residents of large cities – Kyiv, as well as the western and central regions of Ukraine, since the war is also being waged in the air. As noted by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), this is related to the use of drones, missiles, and hybrid attacks; we are talking about new technologies.
People living near the front line, in many places, have no physical access to medical services at all: movement is dangerous, transportation is absent, and even if it exists, roads may be destroyed. Most residents of the eastern and southern regions are elderly people and women with children (since men serve in the army); this is the demographic picture in Ukraine.
Moreover, medical institutions are shelled daily. As a result, primary health care facilities, hospitals, and children’s medical institutions are damaged, and it will take time to restore them.
One more important aspect: medical workers, doctors, and nurses continue to live in these terrible conditions under fire and still have to go to work. There is a shortage of medical personnel capable of providing care to patients. Sometimes doctors simply cannot leave the building: one of our colleagues from Kharkiv, a general practitioner, said that there are days when she has to stay at the primary care facility for a whole day.
Speaking of other regions, medical institutions there are also being hit. WHO is keeping track of damaged healthcare facilities, including maternity hospitals. One of my colleagues recently gave birth to a child in a bomb shelter and spent the next two days there in Kyiv with her newborn — they were lucky to have electricity. All these problems also have a serious impact on the mental health of Ukrainians.
UN News Service: What is your organization doing to address these issues, and how does cooperation with the UNHCR help provide medical care to those in need?
CS: Thanks to the UNICEF, the Humanitarian Fund for Ukraine, other humanitarian donors, and civil society organizations such as the Ukrainian Public Health Foundation, which I represent, we are able to meet the urgent needs of primary healthcare institutions and hospitals. This includes a variety of measures: from repairing buildings and providing hospitals with generators or portable power stations to supplying water and medicines.
We also recruit doctors from abroad to work where there is a shortage of specialists to assist the most vulnerable groups of the population; of course, this is done in partnership with international organizations. In addition, we help medical institutions hire additional staff – for example, psychologists and social workers.
We are integrating social protection services into the healthcare system, enabling people seeking medical care to also access other services: this helps them survive in their communities and also allows them to apply for financial aid or receive funds to buy food. This is extremely important for women with children and elderly people, who often remain alone and have to rely solely on government or humanitarian assistance.
UN News Service: You have been involved for many years in creating services to help people who have experienced domestic and conflict-related sexual violence. What long-term consequences do the victims face, and what is being done to assist them?
HS: First of all, Ukraine, the Ukrainian government, has done a great deal of work to address the issue of domestic violence. We ratified the Istanbul Convention, which was an important achievement for the country. However, due to the war, this problem has unfortunately moved to the background: people die every day, and issues of gender and domestic violence, as well as conflict-related sexual violence, are not addressed in a timely manner and often not even recorded. As in many other countries, this is a “hidden” problem.
People usually seek help primarily when they have physical pain, injuries, and the like, and think about mental health later. They do not take into account that with motivation to live and survive, many health problems could be overcome more quickly if they [sought psychological help].
Over four years, our organization has provided assistance to more than 3,000 survivors of gender-based violence who contacted us through digital platforms; we offered psychological consultations, and ten therapists conducted up to ten sessions with each client. Additionally, we helped more than 150 people who experienced sexual violence in conflict situations and reached out to us via the online platform.
But we have also provided assistance to tens of thousands of Ukrainians personally — in primary health care institutions. They came to us with other needs and problems, and during communication this problem was also identified. We believe that cases of gender-based and conflict-related sexual violence will be identified more often, for example, if a ceasefire occurs: people will start to think about it and stop being afraid to talk about this problem.
UN News Service: Ukraine faces another winter of war. You mentioned power outages caused by attacks on energy infrastructure. In this context, what concerns you most regarding the health of vulnerable population groups?
GS: I believe that now – largely thanks to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the Humanitarian Fund for Ukraine, and humanitarian donors – medical facilities are more or less (or even better than before) prepared for winter – better than other facilities such as civil protection services, schools, kindergartens – especially maternity hospitals, children’s hospitals, and primary health care facilities. They are equipped with the necessary equipment.
However, it is difficult to predict what will happen if attacks on the energy infrastructure continue. Fixing heating problems at minus 20 degrees Celsius is extremely difficult; the generator is not enough.
Water supply and access to water are currently being discussed, and we understand that medical facilities depend on water much more than other facilities, as it is essential for performing surgeries.
Overall, it can be said that we are more or less ready, but much depends on what the winter will be like and whether the attacks will continue. If the shelling does not stop and medical facilities are affected, people may die. There have already been many cases of people dying during operations, in hospitals, and in maternity wards.
Please note; This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of information. It represents an accurate report of what the source asserts and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.