In Russia-occupied areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions (ORDLO), there is no way to provide medical assistance to the population in the fight against the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic due to a lack of medicines, personnel and a difficult economic situation, representative of Russia-controlled areas of Donetsk region in the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) from Ukraine Serhiy Harmash said.
In a commentary to the Guildhall, he also said that the death rate from the pandemic, in the territories uncontrolled by the Ukrainian government, significantly exceeds the global average.
“According to my information, the situation is very difficult,” Harmash said. He noted that even according to the statistics given by separatists, “and which, of course, cannot be trusted,” their situation is worse than the average in the world.
“The mortality rate is over nine, while the average in the world is 5.6, but the real scale we can only imagine,” Harmash said.
He said that a serious problem with medicines remains in the uncontrolled territories, “since even those who have money cannot buy medicines that they could buy, for example, in Ukraine elementary antibiotics.”
“At the same time, they [Russian-occupation force] also closed the entry-exit checkpoints so that people could not leave and buy medicines for themselves, although we [the Ukrainian side] opened the entry-exit checkpoints for this very purpose. It seems that the Russians are deliberately aggravating the situation, trying to reduce the number of people who need to be subsidized in the occupied territories with pensions and other payments,” the representative of certain areas of Donetsk region said.
Harmash also told about a serious shortage of personnel in the region. “Since the salaries of medical workers are much higher in Russia and since Russia itself needs personnel due to the pandemic, the personnel are being washed out of the occupied territories as they are leaving for Russia,” he said.
“The economic situation also contributes to the fact that people cannot get help at a normal level. We need to demand the opening of the checkpoints so that people can get help,” Harmash said.
