A group of experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) has begun to work in Ukraine, the head of the international mission of the WHO Regional Office for Europe, Jukka Pukkila, said at a briefing at the Health Ministry in Kyiv on Tuesday. A group of experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) has begun to work in Ukraine, the head of the international mission of the WHO Regional Office for Europe, Jukka Pukkila, said at a briefing at the Health Ministry in Kyiv on Tuesday.

"Our group has arrived to provide support to the Ukrainian Health Ministry and investigate the situation," Pukkila said.

He said that the group includes nine experts in various fields, including virology and epidemiology.

Pukkila said that the mission had arrived in the country at the invitation of the Ukrainian president. He said that experts are planning to study the cause of the extremely high rate of acute respiratory infections.

He said that the experts would also study swine flu cases that were confirmed by the Ukrainian Health Ministry.