Healthcare in the occupied Kherson region is on the verge of collapse

The healthcare system in the temporarily occupied territories of the Kherson region has been almost destroyed. Residents are forced to travel to hospitals on their own, and in critical cases, help arrives late, often too late.

This was reported by the Center for Investigative Journalism.

In 2023, a 70-year-old resident of one of the occupied villages in the Kakhovka district fell ill. The family called an ambulance from Kakhovka, but the only medical vehicle could only take the patient to Skadovsk, where doctors were needed. The man died on the way. Cases like this happen systematically: the Russian occupation administration has made access to basic medical care almost impossible.

Residents of Nova Kakhovka and nearby villages confirm that ambulances do not respond to night calls and work only during the day. Often people are left without communication and electricity, so the only way to get to a doctor is by their own transport, which is unaffordable for many.

Even during the day it is difficult to get help. The occupiers have looted local hospitals, dispersed most of the medical staff, and there is a catastrophic shortage of those who remain. According to the former mayor of Nova Kakhovka, Volodymyr Kovalenko, there is only one general practitioner and a few doctors and nurses in the city, while before the invasion there were about 900 medical workers. Patients are forced to travel tens of kilometers to Kakhovka, Novotroitske, Skadovsk, and for specialized care - to Crimea.

In Tavriysk, the occupiers seized a new hospital complex, looted the laboratory and took away equipment. Instead of modern technology, they brought in outdated equipment, and the tests are performed using old methods. Only a few general practitioners and one ophthalmologist are left in Kakhovka, and patients are forced to wait for weeks.

The crimes of the occupiers are not limited to staff shortages. According to the former medical director Valentyna Shkurat, the first appointed "chief doctors" took out the property of hospitals, embezzled salaries and medical supplies.

The Russian program "Zemsky Doctor" failed to solve the problem: in a few years, only 65 specialists were recruited for the entire region. Human rights activists emphasized that such actions of the occupiers constitute war crimes.

Also, the occupation administration in Kherson region, under the pretext of "inventory," began to massively take away real estate from owners who are not at home. Currently, they are compiling lists of apartments and houses that they plan to transfer to the Russian military and IDPs from Russia.

Анна Бальчінос