Medical oxygen running out in Ukraine, WHO warns

Medical oxygen running out in Ukraine as war rages, WHO warns Ukraine is running out of oxygen supplies that critically ill people need, the World Health Organization said on Sunday, calling for safe passage for emergency imports as combat rages. Reuters Reuters

ZURICH, Feb 27 (Reuters) -  ...

"The oxygen supply situation is nearing a very dangerous point in Ukraine. Trucks are unable to transport oxygen supplies from plants to hospitals across the country, including the capital Kyiv," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and WHO Regional Director for Europe Hans Kluge said in a statement.

"The majority of hospitals could exhaust their oxygen reserves within the next 24 hours. Some have already run out. This puts thousands of lives at risk." ...

Critical hospital services were also being jeopardised by electricity and power shortages, while ambulances transporting patients were in danger of getting caught in the crossfire.

The WHO said it was looking to increase supplies, most likely using liquid oxygen and cylinders from regional networks. These supplies would need safe transit routes after leaving a logistics corridor through Poland....