The UN warned on Friday that the humanitarian situation in Ukraine, after almost four months of the Russian invasion, is “extremely alarming”, as fighting between the Ukrainian and Russian armies continues to intensify in the east of the country.
“The humanitarian situation in Ukraine, particularly in eastern Donbass, is extremely alarming and continues to deteriorate rapidly,” the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned in a statement.
According to OCHA, the situation is “particularly worrying” in Severodonetsk and its surroundingsthe last site of the Ukrainian resistance in the Luhansk region, almost entirely under Russian control.
The UN humanitarian agency said the access to clean water, food and electricity is “reduced” in this region, underlining that the situation is the result, in particular, of “the fighting that continues to intensify, taking a heavy toll on the civilian population”.
OCHA lamented that “the two countries, at this stage, have not yet reached an agreement to facilitate the evacuation of civilians or even allow humanitarian aid access” to Severodonetsk and the nearby city of Lysytchansk, under constant bombardment for several days.
Across the country, residential areas and civilian infrastructure continue to be affected, resulting in more civilian deaths and injuries.”
Despite “enormous access difficulties”, the UN and its humanitarian partners “served more than 8.8 million people in Ukraine since the beginning of the war.”
According to the UN, 4,452 civilians were killed and 5,531 wounded since the start of the Russian invasion on February 24, according to the organization’s latest report, published on June 15. The UN has already stressed that this “number is likely to be much higher.”
Source: Observadora
