WHO Says it Stands with Ukraine, Has Documented 200 Attacks on Health Facilities

Zinaida Baranchuk, 72, takes a pause as she stands amid the rubble of her house which was destroyed after Russian shelling, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Irpin, Ukraine May 6, 2022. Picture taken May 6, 2022. (Reuters)
Zinaida Baranchuk, 72, takes a pause as she stands amid the rubble of her house which was destroyed after Russian shelling, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Irpin, Ukraine May 6, 2022. Picture taken May 6, 2022. (Reuters)
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WHO Says it Stands with Ukraine, Has Documented 200 Attacks on Health Facilities

Zinaida Baranchuk, 72, takes a pause as she stands amid the rubble of her house which was destroyed after Russian shelling, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Irpin, Ukraine May 6, 2022. Picture taken May 6, 2022. (Reuters)
Zinaida Baranchuk, 72, takes a pause as she stands amid the rubble of her house which was destroyed after Russian shelling, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Irpin, Ukraine May 6, 2022. Picture taken May 6, 2022. (Reuters)

World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told Ukrainians from Kyiv on Saturday that the WHO stood by them in their conflict with Russia, and urged Moscow to stop waging war on its neighbor.

"My message to all the people of Ukraine is this," he said, speaking from the government media center in the capital. "WHO stands by you."

WHO Emergencies Director Mike Ryan told the same news conference that the WHO had already documented 200 attacks on healthcare facilities in Ukraine, and would pass its findings on to those who could assess whether crimes had been committed.



Blinken, in Brussels, Pledges to Shore up Ukraine Support Ahead of Trump Transition

United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte (R) shake hands at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, 13 November 2024. (EPA)
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte (R) shake hands at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, 13 November 2024. (EPA)
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Blinken, in Brussels, Pledges to Shore up Ukraine Support Ahead of Trump Transition

United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte (R) shake hands at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, 13 November 2024. (EPA)
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte (R) shake hands at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, 13 November 2024. (EPA)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken assured NATO on Wednesday that the Biden administration would bolster its support for Ukraine in the few months before Donald Trump's return as president and would try to strengthen the alliance in that time.

Meeting NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Brussels, Biden also said the deployment of North Korean troops to help Russia in the Ukraine war would get a "firm response".

President-elect Trump, who has questioned US military support for Ukraine, says he will quickly end Russia's war without saying how, raising concerns among U.S. allies he could try to force Kyiv to accept peace on Moscow's terms. Biden leaves office on Jan. 20.

Blinken said after meeting Rutte at the alliance’s headquarters they discussed ongoing support for Ukraine, where Russian forces have been making gains on the eastern front lines, and the work NATO must do strengthen its defense industrial base.

The outgoing US administration would "continue to shore up everything we're doing for Ukraine," he said.

"President Biden fully intends to drive through the tape and use every day to continue to do what we have done these last four years, which is strengthen this alliance," Blinken said.

The deployment of North Korean troops to support Russia in the conflict "demands and will get a firm response," he said.

Rutte said that "Russia has not won" in Ukraine, which it invaded in February 2022.

"Obviously we have to do more to make sure that Ukraine can stay in the fight and is able to roll back as much as possible the Russian onslaught and prevent (President Vladimir) Putin from being successful in Ukraine," he said.

Blinken is expected to meet Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha later, according to a State Department schedule.

He will also meet NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe General Christopher Cavoli, top EU officials and British foreign secretary David Lammy in Brussels on Wednesday.