'I ran because I knew I would die': Russian drones target medics in Ukraine

What the report says

Ukraine’s emergency workers are warning that Russian drone and missile strikes are increasingly hitting hospitals, ambulances and other medical sites, in what the BBC says is becoming a regular feature of the war. The report centers on Inna Lytvynenko, a paramedic in Kherson, who described being chased on foot by an FPV drone after arriving to help a wounded woman last June. Her ambulance had already been struck, and she said other vehicles sent to evacuate the patient were also hit before police eventually got her out.

The BBC says Ukrainian and international health groups view these incidents as part of a wider pattern. The World Health Organization’s representative in Ukraine said attacks on healthcare have risen sharply since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022, while Doctors Without Borders said the pattern suggests sustained targeting rather than isolated battlefield damage. The article also notes that Moscow has been accused of using “double-tap” strikes, where a second attack follows the first and can catch rescuers arriving at the scene.

In Kherson and other frontline areas, the consequences are severe for civilians who still need regular care, especially older people and those with chronic illnesses. Medical teams say they now work farther from the front and sometimes rely on police rather than ambulances because of the danger. The BBC reports that humanitarian warehouses and other protected sites have also been damaged, underscoring the strain on Ukraine’s health system and on the rules of war designed to safeguard medics and patients.