U.N. agencies report Russia’s escalating military offensive in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region over the past two weeks is causing an alarming spike in humanitarian needs as deaths and injuries grow and thousands flee in the wake of relentless aerial attacks on civilian and energy infrastructure.
“Over 14,000 people have been displaced in a matter of days, and nearly 189,000 more still reside within 25 kilometers of the border with the Russian Federation, facing significant risks due to the ongoing fighting,” Jarno Habicht, World Health Organization representative in Ukraine said.
Speaking from the capital Kyiv, he told journalists in Geneva Tuesday that Russia’s escalating hostilities are having widespread harmful ramifications throughout the country.
“Homes and civilian infrastructure are being badly damaged, and people across Ukraine, including here in Kyiv are facing electricity shortages as a result of attacks on critical power facilities,” he said noting that a major missile strike Sunday on the outskirts of Kharkiv caused 11 deaths and many injuries, including a paramedic.
The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, reports that “children, first responders and health personnel,” are among the multiple casualties.
Citing reports from authorities and humanitarian workers on the ground, OCHA said that “Attacks in eastern and southern Ukraine over the weekend caused scores of civilian casualties and damage to homes and civilian infrastructure.”
The U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR, also expresses alarm about accelerating attacks by Russian forces in the northeastern Kharkiv region, which is “prolonging and exacerbating an already dire situation.”
UNHCR spokesperson, Shabia Mantoo noted that in the past week, Ukrainian authorities with the help of volunteers and humanitarian organizations have evacuated more than 10,300 people from their villages in Kharkiv region’s border areas.
“The majority of the evacuees, who had to escape their homes with only a few belongings, are already highly vulnerable and include mainly older people and those with low mobility or disabilities who were not able to flee earlier.
“Psychologists with whom UNHCR partners report that as a consequence, many are suffering from acute stress,” she said noting that a transit center has been set up by authorities and humanitarian organizations in Kharkiv city to provide basic relief, psychosocial, legal, and other aid to the internally displaced.
Mantoo adds that more people continue to flee from front-line communities in Donetsk, Sumy, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson towards central and western regions.
“UNHCR is concerned that conditions in Kharkiv — Ukraine’s second largest city, which is already hosting some 200,000 internally displaced people — could become even more difficult if the ground offense and relentless aerial attacks continue,” she said.
The World Health Organization shares these concerns. Since Russia’s invasion more than two years ago, WHO has verified 1,682 attacks on health care in Ukraine, resulting in 128 deaths and 288 injuries of medical personnel and patients.
It reports, on average, 200 ambulances per year are damaged or destroyed in shelling attacks.
“That is a tremendous loss, depriving the Ukrainian people of urgent care,” said Habicht. “With the worsening security situation, humanitarian needs in the region are growing exponentially.
“The conflict has significantly increased the number of trauma patients. We are currently funding critical care teams and ambulances to support emergency medical services,” he said.
Anticipating the possible escalation of hostilities, Habicht said the WHO has prepositioned more than 22 metric tons of medical supplies – enough for 50,000 people – for treatment of acute trauma, surgical interventions and chronic disease management.
Additionally, he said the WHO has trained 120 medical professionals in Kharkiv region in mass casualty response, including the “management of chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear incidents.”
While saying that he personally did not believe that these dangerous substances are likely to be used or inadvertently discharged in the current conflict, he cautioned that “In health, we have learned that we have to be ready for any risk.”
The bigger problem, he said, is that of funding. He noted that the United Nations $3.1 billion appeal to provide lifesaving humanitarian assistance for 8.5 million people inside Ukraine this year is only 23% funded.
The UNHCR is running into a similar problem in that the agency has received only 16 percent of its $1.1. billion appeal targeting 2.3 million refugees and the five communities hosting them.
“The funding situation is very alarming. We are concerned about the levels of funding for this humanitarian crisis…. The war is prolonging. So, we also know that the needs will accrue.
“We have got winter approaching. It seems far off, but we need to start planning now and make arrangements. More and more people are fleeing their homes that do not have shelter,” she said.
The UNHCR Official observed that the damage inflicted by Russian forces to Ukraine’s energy facilities will “significantly increase the need for humanitarian assistance during the cold season.”
