74 Medics Killed in Over 36 Russian Double-Tap Strikes Since the Start of the Invasion

Russia has carried out at least 36 double-tap strikes against Ukraine since the outset of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Double-tap strikes follow a pattern in which an initial strike is followed by a second, typically targeting first responders, medical personnel, and civilian rescuers who may have arrived on the scene to help the injured.

According to UA War Infographics, as of February 2022, Russia is responsible for 1067 attacks on healthcare facilities targeting a total of 952 medical facilities, inflicting damage on 124 ambulances and 18 medical warehouses, and resulting in the deaths of 74 medical personnel and 27 patients.

Rescuers of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine (DSNS) are often the first to arrive at the scene of Russian attacks to perform rescue operations, a task that is becoming increasingly dangerous amid the increasing usage of double-tap strikes.

According to the DSNS, 91 of its rescuers have been killed and over 340 injured by Russian strikes since February 2022.

“I can’t wrap my head around this, it’s just inhuman. They see perfectly well that unarmed rescuers are the first to arrive at the sites of their attacks,” DSNS spokesperson Oleksandr Korunzhy told the BBC.

The number of double-tap strikes conducted by Russia in Ukraine is increasing. In 2022, Russia is reported as having carried out 2 such strikes, 10 the following year, and 20 in 2024 as of the end of August.

Such strikes are considered war crimes if proven to deliberately target civilians and rescuers, as they are in violation of International Humanitarian Law, including the Geneva Conventions of 1949 which forbids the targeting of civilians and the wounded.

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe condemned Russia’s repeated use of double-tap attacks in Ukraine, calling this tactic a “particularly insidious form of assault” that breaches rules of international law.