Doctors Without Borders says office in Donetsk Oblast 'bombed and completely destroyed'

Dinara Khalilova, The Kyiv Independent news desk
·2 min read

Doctors Without Borders, an international medical humanitarian organization that provides help in conflict zones, reported on April 5 that its office in Pokrovsk in Donetsk Oblast was "bombed and completely destroyed."

Settlements in the Ukraine-controlled part of Donetsk Oblast, such as Pokrovsk, suffer from daily Russian attacks due to their proximity to the front line. Heavy fighting continues in Donetsk Oblast as Russia seeks to occupy the entire region.

The organization's office in Pokrovsk, around 50 kilometers northwest of the Russian-occupied regional capital, Donetsk, came under attack at about 3 a.m. local time, Doctors Without Borders said on Facebook.

The office's employees were not wounded, but five local residents who were nearby at the time suffered injuries, according to the report.

"We condemn the attack on the office that provided emergency medical humanitarian aid to people in Donetsk Oblast," the organization added.

"Doctors Without Borders calls for the protection of its facilities, as well as civilians, humanitarian organizations and health care workers."

Read also: Ukraine’s ‘angels’ who look after, evacuate civilians left in front-line Donbas

"The attack on our office is far from an isolated incident," said Vincenzo Porpiglia, Doctors Without Borders' emergency coordinator in Ukraine. "Destruction of civilian infrastructure has been a characteristic feature of this war for a long time."

In his morning update on the consequences of Russian attacks over the previous 24 hours, Donetsk Oblast Governor Vadym Filashkin reported that two people had been killed and another nine had been injured, including five in Pokrovsk.

Filashkin also said that 17 houses had been damaged in the Pokrovsk attack.

Since the start of Russia's war against Ukraine in 2014, local and international charities and volunteers have been risking their lives to help civilians in front-line areas. This is not the first time they have come under attack.

A Russian FPV (first-person-view) drone reportedly struck a volunteer's car in the front-line town of Chasiv Yar in Donetsk Oblast on Jan. 26, destroying a part of humanitarian aid for locals.

In September last year, two foreign volunteers were killed, and two more were hospitalized when their car was struck by Russian shelling while driving through Chasiv Yar.

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