WHO international locations condemn Russia’s battle on Ukraine – POLITICO

GENEVA — World Well being Group member international locations Wednesday voted in favor of a decision condemning Russia’s continued battle towards Ukraine and its assaults on well being care companies, in a transfer that Russia claimed wrongly politicizes the group.

The symbolic vote on the ongoing World Well being Meeting in favor of a resolution was backed by 80 international locations, with 52 abstaining, 9 voting towards and 36 absent. International locations additionally rejected a counterresolution from Russia and Syria, with simply 13 voting in favor. The rejection of Russia’s decision was meant to “ship a transparent sign that scary a well being emergency of excellent proportions and destruction of medical buildings on an enormous scale shouldn’t be tolerated by this meeting and comes with a value for the aggressor state,” Ukraine’s consultant mentioned through the assembly this week.

The WHO is usually impartial on political points, preferring to not single out international locations whereas condemning assaults on well being care.

Talking right now, Ukraine mentioned that Russia’s counterproposal — which doesn’t acknowledge its position within the influence on well being care in Ukraine — was trying to absolve the Kremlin of duty for the battle.

The adopted decision, co-sponsored by all EU international locations besides Hungary, is a repeat of a similar resolution that was handed in 2022. That decision was backed by 88 international locations. At this time’s transfer follows European international locations’ recent success in forcing the relocation of the WHO’s non-communicable ailments workplace out of Moscow.

Ukraine instructed the meeting that the battle had seen 1,256 well being services broken, with 177 lowered to rubble; about 237 well being employees and sufferers useless and injured; and 21 p.c of all ambulances broken or destroyed.

Europe has repeatedly moved to push Russia to the fringes of the world stage, with the most recent decision one other try and denounce Russia’s position within the devastating battle on Ukraine.

However Russia has argued towards what it claims is an try and wrongly politicize a physique that’s meant to be impartial on politics. Moscow’s consultant mentioned that “the supply of medical care needs to be freed from politics, so ought to the WHO,” including that “Western international locations are bringing politics into this group.”