The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that the COVID-19 crisis and the Russian occupation have reduced the oxygen supplies of hospitals in Ukraine to dangerously low levels. It’s estimated that 1,700 people are currently hospitalized in Ukraine due to COVID-19, so this shortage is putting thousands of lives at risk.
One of the main problems is that cargo trucks are unable to transport vital oxygen supplies from factories across the country to hospitals, including in the capital Kyiv. Medical manufacturers in various regions are also facing shortages of zeolite, a chemical product required to produce safe medical oxygen.
In addition to oxygen shortages, WHO says many hospitals are experiencing power outages due to the ongoing conflict. Ambulances carrying patients are also in danger of being caught in crossfire.
WHO is working to provide medical supplies by identifying shortages and bringing in cylinders and liquid oxygen from other regional sources. Many of these materials are known to come from a corridor on the Polish border.
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