The top UN official in Ukraine is responsible for ensuring the coordination of all humanitarian assistance operations in the country. He said Ukraine urgently needs peace, justice and continued international support.
More than 2,180 civilian casualties have been confirmed in October and November of this year alone.
Due to the intense fighting, a large number of people have fled their homes and 40 thousand people have been displaced from the front lines of the fighting in the last two months.
A senior UN official said, the most challenged in this situation are the marginalized communities. Mathias Schmale meets two elderly men in Dnipro who have lost everything in the war and are now depressed.
“He expresses a pessimistic view of a better future, and that’s understandable.”
While visiting a shelter, the residential coordinator also experienced first-hand the difficulties faced by disabled people there.
“I have seen how incredibly challenging it is for people with disabilities to deal with the disruption and trauma caused by war.”
Resilience in crisis
Following the devastation caused by violent conflict, humanitarian workers are on the front lines distributing relief to communities in crisis.
Doctors and other health workers in Donetsk, in collaboration with the World Health Organization, are providing critical care services in extremely challenging conditions.
This is the third winter since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Temperatures have dropped below zero and systematic attacks on energy installations have had a profound impact on power supply and heating systems.
The attacks in November and December caused widespread power outages, affecting millions of people and cutting off home heating and clean water for high-rise residents.
Matthias Schmel said these attacks have made the situation worse for the most vulnerable groups of Ukraine’s population.
Need financial assistance
UN humanitarian agencies are responding to the urgent needs of citizens of Ukraine during the winter months. For this, solid fuels like wood, cash assistance and repair of water supply system are being provided.
It is said that a total of $500 million will be required for all these efforts by March 2025. In addition, a humanitarian appeal of $2.2 billion is being prepared for 2025, with plans to provide relief to 12.7 million people.
The resident coordinator said in his message that the war in Ukraine must stop being taken for granted. According to him, guns must be silenced, peace must be maintained with accountability and justice must be ensured with full respect for Ukraine’s territorial integrity and the UN Charter.