Hospital N27, Donetsk, 4 February 2015 / ©Reuters / M. Sergeev

Geneva (ICRC) – The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is appalled by the repeated damage caused to medical facilities on both sides of the front line in Ukraine. Hospital N27 in Donetsk city's Textilschiki district was damaged today by artillery shelling, as was other civilian infrastructure, including a kindergarten.

"This is not the first time that hospitals and other medical facilities have come under fire," said Joan Audierne, head of the ICRC office in Donetsk. "Medical staff are working under very difficult conditions to save lives. They must be able to do their work. Civilian infrastructure and patients must be spared. If you're not safe in a hospital, where can you be?"

The ICRC specifically reminds all parties of their obligation under international humanitarian law to respect and protect medical personnel, ambulances and facilities. The parties to the conflict must ensure that medical personnel are not endangered or harmed, and hospitals and ambulances not attacked, damaged or misused.

For further information, please contact:

Ashot Astabatsyan, ICRC Kiev, tel: +380 67 509 42 06

Jennifer Tobias, ICRC Geneva, tel: +41 22 730 25 02 or +41 79 536 92 48