More than 40% of Ukrainians need humanitarian aid, says UN
People react near the memorial for the victims of a Russian rocket attack in the village of Hroza near Kharkiv, Ukraine, on October 8
Russian strikes are inflicting unimaginable suffering on the people of Ukraine and more than 40% of them need humanitarian assistance, a senior UN official has told the UN Security Council.
Ramesh Rajasingham, director of co-ordination in the UN humanitarian office, said thousands of civilians have been killed in strikes on homes, schools, fields and markets since Russia’s invasion in February 2022.
The UN human rights office has formally verified 9,900 civilians killed, but he said “the actual number is certainly higher”.
Ukrainian civilians are suffering “horrendous humanitarian consequences” and “unimaginable levels of suffering” from the Russian strikes, Mr Rajasingham said.
About 18 million Ukrainians – more than 40% of the population – need some form of humanitarian assistance, and as winter approaches “needs will be magnified”, he said.
Mr Rajasingham said significant damage and destruction of critical infrastructure continues to severely impact civilian access to electricity, heating, water and telecommunications, “a particular concern as winter fast approaches”, which will put the elderly, disabled and displaced most at risk.
The Russian military methodically targeted Ukraine’s power stations and other critical infrastructure with missile and drone strikes during the last winter season, resulting in frequent power outages.
To prepare for the freezing temperatures this winter, the UN official said, the humanitarian community is helping people carrying out household repairs and ensuring that water and heating systems are functional.
“The aim is to ensure that every civilian has access to somewhere both safe and warm during the winter ahead,” Mr Rajasingham said.
Ukrainians must also deal with diminished healthcare, he said.
Since the invasion, the UN World Health Organisation has verified more than 1,300 attacks on healthcare – more than 55% of all attacks worldwide during the same period, he said.
And 111 healthcare workers and patients have been killed, with 13 health facilities impacted by attacks just since the beginning of September.
As the war continues, it has become more dangerous for humanitarian organisations to operate, with the number of aid workers killed more than tripling from four in 2022 to 14 so far in 2023, Mr Rajasingham said.
Despite the risks, more than 500 humanitarian organisations – the majority of them local – reached nine million people with aid in the first nine months of 2023, thanks to more than $2bn (€1.89bn) contributed by donors to the UN’s $3.9bn (€3.69bn) appeal for this year, he said.
But more than 40% of the appeal is still unfunded.
US deputy ambassador Robert Wood told the council Russian attacks reduced Ukraine’s power generating capacity to roughly half its pre-war capacity, according to a UN estimate in June.
And between October 2022 and March 2023, many civilians spent roughly 35 days without power.
He said Russian attacks on critical infrastructure have already resumed, “risking critical services and exacerbating the humanitarian crisis”.
Mr Wood pointed to a single day in September when Russia launched 44 missiles at energy facilities in six regions, and a Ukrainian government report that from October 11-12, Russia launched artillery, missiles and drones against the Kherson region “an estimated 100 times”.
From mid-July, when Russia pulled out of the initiative enabling Ukraine to ship critically needed wheat and other foodstuffs from Black Sea ports, until mid-October, Russian attacks destroyed nearly 300,000 tons of Ukrainian grain, he said.
“We call on the international community to continue providing essential humanitarian support to Ukraine, including supporting Ukraine’s efforts to restore its energy grid,” Mr Wood said.
Russia’s UN ambassador Vassily Nebenzia claimed it is Ukrainian missiles – not Russian air strikes – that hit “civilian objects”.
And he accused the Kyiv government of making up “lies about Russia” and blaming Moscow for “high-profile tragedies” in Ukraine in order to elicit Western support for more military assistance.
While Western diplomats speak out about casualties and destruction in Ukraine, Mr Nebenzia added, they never mention anything about casualties and destruction in the eastern Donbas region, which Russia illegally annexed in October 2022.
Ukraine’s UN ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya expressed gratitude to the UN and donors for assisting the government in preparing for winter.
He said Russia shows no intention of abandoning the “terrorist” practice of targeting civilian infrastructure, saying that “makes it imperative to obtain additional air defence systems to safeguard these critical facilities during the winter”.
