Red Cross staff members killed in Ukraine as country warned of severe winter health crisis

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The World Health Organization issued a stark warning on Thursday about a potential health crisis in Ukraine as the country faces its third winter of war since Russia’s full-scale invasion.

The warning came as three Red Cross staff members were killed by artillery strikes in eastern Ukraine Thursday. The deadly strikes, which left two others wounded, hit a Red Cross truck that was delivering firewood in the war-divided Donetsk region, the organization said. Photos released by local police showed the truck engulfed in flames. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy blamed Russia for the attack, which he said warranted a “firm and fundamental” response from the international community. Mirjana Spoljaric, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, added: "Our hearts are broken today as we mourn the loss of our colleagues and care for the injured. This tragedy unleashes a wave of grief all too familiar to those who have lost loved ones in armed conflict.” Relief agencies and Western governments are ramping up civilian aid to Ukraine to protect its hospitals and power systems ahead of the winter as Russia continues daily airstrikes across the country to try and cripple its electricity infrastructure. The World Health Organization warned Thursday that the severe damage to energy and health facilities is leaving millions vulnerable as temperatures drop.

“Ukraine is approaching its third winter amid a full-scale war — likely its most challenging yet. The renewed focus on health is more critical than ever,” Hans Kluge, the WHO’s regional director for Europe, told reporters in Kyiv.

Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, the U.N. agency has recorded nearly 2,000 attacks on Ukraine’s health care infrastructure, which it said is having a severe impact on the largely public health system.

“Targeted attacks have damaged Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. Frequent power outages are already taking a toll with danger signs for the winter,” Kluge said after a visit to front-line regions in eastern Ukraine.

“This could jeopardize the storage and distribution of vaccines, leading to a rise in vaccine-preventable diseases,” he said. Other concerns, he said, included possible contamination of the water system due to frequent power outages and growing signs of antimicrobial resistance because of a misuse of antibiotics.

“We have stories of wounds that simply will not heal due to resistance to antibiotics," Kluge said. "This could have consequences far beyond Ukraine if drugs become ineffective.”

WHO plans to install 15 heating units at hospitals at risk of further attack as well as a network of treatment clinics in areas where health care access is difficult, as part of initiatives by local Ukrainian authorities and Western governments. The agency is also racing to provide generators and other backup power options, and also help implement state-planned health system reforms.

Early work on those projects, Kluge said, focused on Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city in the east, which has come under frequent Russian attack. Earlier this week, the agency also announced that it had organized the donation of 23 ambulances to assist medical services in mostly front-line areas.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

Doctor Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe, speaks to media during a press conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

Doctor Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe, left, attends a press conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

Doctor Jarno Habicht, WHO Representative in Ukraine speaks to the media during a press conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

Doctor Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe, left, and Doctor Jarno Habicht, WHO Representative in Ukraine speak to the media during a press conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

Doctor Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe speaks to the media during a press conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

Doctor Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe, reads notes before a press conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

Doctor Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe speaks to media during a press conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

NEW YORK (AP) — Sean “Diddy" Combs was expected to appear before a federal judge in New York on Tuesday after his indictment on undisclosed criminal charges.

The music mogul was arrested late Monday in Manhattan, roughly six months after federal authorities conducting a sex trafficking investigation raided his luxurious homes in Los Angeles and Miami.

The indictment detailing the charges was expected to be unsealed Tuesday morning, according to U.S. Attorney Damian Williams.

Over the past year, Combs has been sued by people who say he subjected them to physical or sexual abuse. He has denied many of those allegations and his lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, called the new indictment an “unjust prosecution.”

“He is an imperfect person, but he is not a criminal,” Agnifilo said in a statement late Monday.

Combs, 58, was recognized as one of the most influential figures in hip-hop before a flood of allegations that emerged over the past year turned him into an industry pariah.

In November, his former girlfriend, the R&B singer Cassie, whose legal name is Casandra Ventura, filed a lawsuit saying he had beaten and raped her for years. She accused Combs of coercing her, and others, into unwanted sex in drug-fueled settings.

The suit was settled in one day but months later CNN aired hotel security footage showing Combs punching and kicking Cassie and throwing her on a floor. After the video aired, Combs apologized, saying, “I was disgusted when I did it.”

Combs and his attorneys, however, denied similar allegations made by others in a string of lawsuits.

Douglas Wigdor, a lawyer for Cassie, said in a statement Tuesday that “neither Ms. Ventura nor I have any comment.”

“We appreciate your understanding and if that changes, we will certainly let you know,” he added.

A woman said Combs raped her two decades ago when she was 17. A music producer sued, saying Combs forced him to have sex with prostitutes. Another woman, April Lampros, said Combs subjected her to “terrifying sexual encounters,” starting when she was a college student in 1994.

The AP does not typically name people who say they have been sexually abused unless they come forward publicly, as Cassie and Lampros did.

Combs, the founder of Bad Boy Records, has gotten out of legal trouble before.

In 2001, he was acquitted of charges related to a Manhattan nightclub shooting two years earlier that injured three people. His then-protege, Shyne, was convicted of assault and other charges and served about eight years in prison.

Associated Press writer Andrew Dalton in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

FILE - Host Sean "Diddy" Combs presents the revolt black excellence award at the Billboard Music Awards, May 15, 2022, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)

Sean 'Diddy' Combs is expected in court after New York indictment

Sean 'Diddy' Combs is expected in court after New York indictment

FILE - Sean "Diddy" Combs arrives at the LA Premiere of "The Four: Battle For Stardom" at the CBS Radford Studio Center on May 30, 2018, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP, File)