The WHO said trucks are unable to transport oxygen supplies from plants to hospitals across Ukraine, putting thousands of more lives at risk.
Critical hospital services are also under threat from electricity and power shortages, according to the WHO. Ambulances transporting patients are in danger of getting caught in the crossfire between Russian and Ukrainian troops, the global health agency said.
The WHO said Ukraine had made significant progress in strengthening its health-care system before Russia's invasion, including scaling up oxygen therapy to treat patients critically ill with Covid-19. "This progress is now at risk of being derailed during the current crisis," Tedros and Kluge said. Ukraine has suffered at least 240 civilian casualties since the Russian invasion began including 64 dead and 176 injured, according to the U.N. report. However, the U.N. humanitarian affairs agency believes the actual number of civilian casualties is considerably higher.
Many Ukrainians are fleeing to Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. The U.N. has said the scale of the humanitarian crisis will test the capacity of neighboring nations. The U.N refugee agency has posted information in Ukrainian, Russian and English for people seeking assistance.