The World Health Organization is warning that thousands of Ukrainians have died from lack of proper medical care since the Russian invasion began in February.

The mass displacement of people and the closure of medical facilities are proving fatal, Dr. Hans Kluge, the head of the WHO’s Regional Office for Europe, said yesterday.

These are dark times for the European Region, as we are confronted with unthinkable levels of human suffering.

In the long shadow cast from over 2 years of a pandemic, we are now experiencing war & the greatest humanitarian crisis we have seen for more than 70 years.

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— Hans Kluge (@hans_kluge) May 10, 2022

Many of the people remaining in Mariupol, he notes, are elderly who were too frail to flee. He says disease and the collapse of the health care system could lead to another wave of deaths in the coming weeks in the beleaguered city.

And the problem is ongoing. The mayor of Mariupol says thousands more could die in his besieged city alone from lack of access to sanitation, clean drinking water and proper medical care.

At least 3,000 people who needed regular medical treatment already have died in Ukraine because the war made it impossible for them to access adequate health care, he said. The WHO says people needing treatment for cancer and HIV are particularly vulnerable.