Beijing: A Chinese foreign ministry official, Cheng Guoping met with Russia's ambassador to China Andrey Denisov on Thursday amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

"External Security Commissioner of China's Foreign Ministry Cheng Guoping met with the Russian Ambassador to China Andrey Denisov and discussed bilateral ties between both countries," the Global Times reported.

The world is witnessing a crisis in Ukraine after Russian forces launched military operations on February 24, three days after Moscow recognized Ukraine's breakaway regions - Donetsk and Luhansk - as independent entities.

Several countries including the UK, the US, Canada, and the European Union have condemned Russia's military operations in Ukraine and imposed sanctions on Moscow.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday (local time) said that at least 12 people have been killed and 34 people have been injured in at least 43 attacks on health care facilities in Ukraine amid intensified attacks by Russia.

Tedros said the war in Ukraine is also exacerbating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country due to a decline in testing rates and only 40 per cent Ukrainian population being vaccinated.

Tedros stated that while Ukraine is "rightly the focus of the world's attention," he urged the council "not to lose sight of the many other crises in which people are suffering," including millions of people still suffering in Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Syria, and Yemen.