Recently, US government officials estimated that an armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine could kill 25,000 to 50,000 civilians, 5,000 to 25,000 Ukrainian military personnel, and 3,000 to 10,000 Russian soldiers. It could also generate 1 to 5 million refugees. Any further escalation could even lead to use of nuclear weapons which would be catastrophic.Dr. Barry S Levy, Adjunct Professor of Public Health, Tufts University School of Medicine in a presentation at an event organized by International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) on February 19 warned of serious consequences of conventional war.According to him, in case of war there is increase in malnutrition, particularly among women and children. There is rise in communicable diseases like diarrhoea, cholera, respiratory diseases, tuberculosis. Mental disorders like depression, posttraumatic stress disorder and suicide increase. Reproductive health suffers badly. Non-communicable diseases like heart diseases, cancers, kidney diseases too rise.Since Ukraine has 17% population above the age of 65, there is a danger that indirect death rate would be much higher than in case of the invasion of Iraq since this group of population is more vulnerable.
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