Health Ministry on trip of WHO Regional Director to aggressor country: official visits to Russia should be suspended
The Ministry of Health of Ukraine expresses concern about the trip of the WHO Regional Director Hans Kluge to Moscow and his meeting with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia Sergey Lavrov on June 16, 2025.
"The Ministry of Health of Ukraine believes that paying such visits at this time is unacceptable. Such contacts with representatives of the aggressor state weaken Russia's diplomatic isolation, undermine the authority of international organizations, in particular, the WHO, and call into question the principled position on the protection of international humanitarian law," the statement published on the Ministry of Health website reads.
The ministry said currently "signals of readiness to 'normalize' relations with a state that systematically attacks the healthcare system look like an attempt to turn a blind eye to obvious crimes."
The Ministry of Health recalls that as of early June 2025, damage or destruction of 2,354 facilities in 769 health facilities had been documented, many of which are still operating in a risk zone, and medical workers are dying or being injured while performing their duties.
"Such meetings could be an opportunity for a tough conversation about the inadmissibility of attacks on civilian medical infrastructure, including shelling of hospitals, destruction of medical transport, as well as injuries and deaths among patients and medical workers. It should be clearly stated: the detention of Ukrainian prisoners of war in inhumane conditions without access to treatment is a gross violation of the Geneva Conventions," the Ministry of Health said.
The Ministry of Health of Ukraine calls on the WHO to "maintain a clear line of conduct, publicly condemning attacks on healthcare facilities, medical transport, workers and patients."
"In the current conditions, any official visits to the Russian Federation should be suspended," the Ministry of Health of Ukraine said.
Earlier, information about Hans Kluge's visit to Moscow and his photo with Lavrov appeared on social networks.