Russia accuses Ukraine of shelling medical facilities and of killing medical staff

MOSCOW, April 18 (Reuters) - Russia accused Ukrainian forces of repeatedly shelling medical facilities in Russian-controlled areas of Ukraine with Western weapons on Thursday and said the West and the World Health Organization (WHO) had turned a blind eye to the attacks.

There was no immediate comment from Ukraine. Russia and Ukraine accuse each other of war crimes. Both deny each other's allegations. There was no immediate comment from the WHO.

The accusation was made by Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova who told reporters that Ukrainian forces had repeatedly targeted medical facilities and doctors in four Ukrainian regions which Moscow says it has annexed.

Zakharova listed the dates and locations of the attacks in recent months and said the same information had been provided to the WHO which she said had done nothing with the data.

"Real doctors are dying from shelling by Kyiv with weapons supplied by the West," Zakharova said.

She said that the West - and the Western media - had ignored any crimes carried out by Ukraine and only wanted to criticise Russia. (Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge Editing by Andrew Osborn)