The meeting was requested by Ukraine and supported by Security Council member states Ecuador and France.
On Tuesday, the UN’s acting chief of humanitarian coordination, Joyce Mossua, briefed representatives of the 15-member Security Council on the situation in Ukraine.
He said the situation has been going from bad to worse since the war started two and a half years ago. “The death toll is increasing. “Human suffering continues at an intolerable level.”
According to one estimate, more than 11,700 civilians have lost their lives and more than 24,000 have been injured since the full-scale invasion of the Russian military on 24 February 2022.
One million Ukrainian citizens have been forced to leave their homes in the country.
The Acting Under-Secretary-General said Ukraine had been hit by large-scale missile and drone attacks in recent days, injuring large numbers of civilians. Among them are children. Also, critical infrastructure was damaged.
atmosphere of fear
According to Joyce Mosua, millions of people in Ukraine live in fear of death, destruction and attacks every day. Civilians have suffered the most in the frontline areas of Donetsk and Kharkiv, but other cities, including Dnipro, Kiev, Lviv, Poltava, have also been attacked.
Continued attacks on Ukraine’s energy facilities have affected power supply capabilities, leaving people in the country without power.
This has disrupted the functioning of hospitals and health centers and children’s education.
He said, despite the challenging situation for humanitarian relief workers, the United Nations is busy providing relief to the needy population. In the first seven months of 2024, over 6.2 million people received humanitarian assistance.
Battle in new areas
The Acting Under-Secretary-General said that on both sides of the border between Ukraine and Russia, fighting is now spreading into new areas, which is alarming.
Ukraine launched its military operation in Kursk in the Russian Federation on August 6, after which more than 1.25 lakh civilians were evacuated from there.
According to media reports, there were civilian casualties and damage to civilian facilities. In view of this, he called on all parties to ensure the protection of civilians and institutions in accordance with international humanitarian law.
Joyce Msuya said heads of state and government are preparing to participate in high-level segments during the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly. Just before that, he appealed to the member states of the Security Council and to all countries that every opportunity should be used to protect the lives of civilians and end the war.