Humanitarian aid needed for over 40 percent of Ukrainians
UN official warns of misery, deaths as winter nears
UNITED NATIONS — Russian strikes are inflicting unimaginable suffering on the people of Ukraine and more than 40 percent of them need humanitarian assistance, a senior UN official told the UN Security Council on Tuesday.
Ramesh Rajasingham, director of coordination 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, Rajasingham said. About 18 million Ukrainians — more than 40 percent of the population — need some form of humanitarian assistance, and as winter approaches “needs will be magnified,” he said.
Rajasingham said significant damage and destruction of critical infrastructure continue to severely hinder 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,” Rajasingham said.
Ukrainians must also deal with diminished health care, he said.
Since the invasion, the UN’s World Health Organization has verified more than 1,300 attacks on health care — more than 55 percent of all attacks worldwide during the same period, he said. And 111 health care 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 organizations to operate, with the number of aid workers killed more than tripling from four in 2022 to 14 so far in 2023, Rajasingham said.
Despite the risks, more than 500 humanitarian organizations — the majority of them local — reached 9 million people with aid in the first nine months of 2023, thanks to more than $2 billion contributed by donors to the UN’s $3.9 billion appeal for this year, he said. But more than 40 percent of the appeal is still unfunded.
US Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood told the council that Russian attacks reduced Ukraine’s power generating capacity to roughly half its prewar 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.”
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 on Oct. 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.