Russians are struggling to find vital medication after western sanctions

• Russia's invasion of Ukraine has resulted in many nations imposing sanctions on it.
• While medications did not specifically be sanctioned, the situation has led to limited supplies.

Russia is still experiencing drug shortages following western sanctions after it invaded Ukraine, the Associated Press reported.

Last week, Reuters reported that Roszdravnadzor, a healthcare regulator in Russia said shortages of medication were due to "artificially" higher demand because people have been stocking up on them since the start of the war, and suppliers were not able to replenish those stocks on time.

The AP reported that at the start of the war residents advised each other to stock up on vital medications as fear of sanctions impacting supplies grew and now some are struggling to find necessary drugs in pharmacies.

"Not a single pharmacy in the city has it now," a resident of Kazan told AP about a blood thinner she needed for her father.

Dr. Alexey Erlikh head of the cardiac intensive care unit in Moscow Hospital No. 29 told the AP he's not sure how "catastrophic" the shortages would be in the long run.

Radio Free Europe reported that some Russians have not been able to find imported drugs that they need and others have had to have family members ship them drugs from abroad.

"There are no lines, but the one medicine I need, I've been looking around in all the pharmacies. My son went around to many pharmacies.… It's just disappeared, disappeared," Yelena Dmitriyeva told the outlet.

Ziyautdin Uvaysov, head of Patient's Monitor, a patients' rights group in the Russian region of Dagestan told the AP that he's called several state-run pharmacies in the region to see the availability of the 10 most-wanted medications and they did not have a lot in stock and did not know when they would be restocked.

Erlikh told the AP that doctors have also not been able to find the medications including those needed for some surgeries. Erlikh also said he's concerned with the quality of medications available, an issue that was ongoing before the current war.

As much as 40% of the drugs in Russia were imported, and following sanctions after the annexation of Crimea in 2014, Russia imposed a Russian-made substitution law for medication, the AP reported.

Erlick said some generic substitutions made in the country are not effective.

"Of course, when there is no original medication, a generic is better than nothing. But it is a situation of (deliberately) lowering the bar, it is not a good way to live," he told the AP.

Last month, several healthcare companies said they felt obligated to provide necessary medicines to Russia, despite the obstacles posed by sanctions and their opposition to the war, however the sanctions have made it harder for companies to send medication to the country.

Russia's sanction from SWIFT has made international payments difficult, and the halting of air traffic with Russia has also disrupted supply chains, the AP reported.

Additionally, some healthcare companies previously said there was a shortage of truck drivers to make deliveries by land.

The AP reported that Roszdravnadzor as of Friday said the market for medications is "gradually returning to normal," and panic buying is decreasing.