A Russian missile strike has destroyed $2.6m (£1.9m) worth of HIV prevention supplies near Kyiv, the Alliance for Public Health said, calling it an attack on 300,000 Ukrainians who depend on harm reduction programmes. The warehouse held 62 million items – syringes, needles, alcohol wipes and condoms – earmarked for next year’s efforts to curb one of Europe’s highest HIV burdens.
“This is not just another strike. It is an attack on 300,000 Ukrainians who depend on HIV prevention services and on their fundamental right to health,” said Andriy Klepikov, executive director of the alliance. He added that supplies for the rest of the year had been moved to regional centres weeks ago as contingency planning, so services would not be disrupted immediately. “Russia failed,” he said, while appealing for urgent support to rebuild next year’s stock.
“Russian missile strike destroyed £1.9m of HIV supplies near Kyiv; Ukrainian drones hit Wildberries warehouses, killing 8 workers.”
The strike came as Ukraine stepped up its own long-distance drone campaign, hitting logistics hubs inside Russia. In a series of attacks over recent days, Ukrainian drones targeted warehouses belonging to Wildberries, Russia’s biggest online retailer, killing eight workers and destroying goods estimated at £750m ($1bn). Two warehouses were hit at the weekend in Elektrostal and Kotovsk – where seven nightshift workers died – followed by strikes on Monday at Koledino and early Wednesday at Krasnodar and Nevinnomyssk. Wildberries owner Tatiana Kim reported further casualties. “We are, quite justly, bringing the war back home – to Russia,” said President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Kyiv said it struck “major logistics facilities” used to supply sanctioned components for drone production and navigation equipment. The attacks have frustrated hundreds of Russian small sellers who rely on the platform. “I am a mother of a disabled child, I’ve built the business myself,” one woman wrote on social media. “I’ve lost 1m roubles (£9,500)… We’re already getting screwed over from every direction as it is.”
Ukraine has long had 240,000 people living with HIV, with nearly 119,000 on antiretroviral therapy. Between 2010 and 2021, new infections fell by nearly 60% and AIDS-related deaths by 70%, thanks to scaled-up harm reduction. But the full-scale invasion has brought severe disruption: last year, UN Aids warned of a $1.9m funding gap for treatment courses after the Trump administration froze US aid. The latest strike threatens to reverse hard-won gains, as Ukraine’s health system buckles under the weight of war.