The acting UN coordinator for emergency relief said on Tuesday in the Security Council that, two and a half years after the escalation of the war in Ukraine, “the situation is only getting worse. The death toll is rising. Human suffering continues at intolerable levels.”
The meeting, requested by Ukraine and supported by Council members Ecuador and France, comes after Ukraine reported that the attacks have caused a significant number of civilian casualties and widespread destruction of civilian infrastructure in cities such as Kyiv, Kharkiv and Sumy.
Joyce Msuya told ambassadors that systematic and large-scale attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure continue to dramatically reduce electrical capacity, resulting in millions of people across the country experiencing daily power outages.
The power outages often last for many hours and limit access to water, heating, and the internet. hinder the operation of hospitals and health centers.
“Millions of Ukrainians face death, destruction and fear of attacks every day,” he added.
Expansion of fighting to new areas
The Acting Humanitarian Affairs Minister went on to express deep concern about the recent expansion of fighting to new areas on both sides of the Ukraine-Russia border.
Since Ukraine’s military operation in Russia’s Kursk region on August 6, at least 130,000 civilians have been evacuated, according to local Russian officials. Media reported casualties and damage to infrastructure.
“I must remind all parties of their obligation to constantly ensure the protection of civilians and civilian objects, as required by international humanitarian law,” Msuya stressed.
UN Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator Joyce Msuya briefs the Security Council on maintaining peace and security in Ukraine.
Humanitarian aid
This escalation also undermines humanitarian operations, making them “extremely dangerous and exposing aid workers to serious harm.” Despite this, they continue to help hundreds of thousands of people in need.
In the first seven months of 2024, some 6.2 million people received humanitarian aidindicated the acting coordinator.
However, Msuya warned that they have not been able to reach 1.5 million people on an adequate scale in the regions of Ukraine occupied by the Russian Federation – in parts of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia – who “certainly need urgent health care, medicines, food and clean water”.
In this sense, reiterated its call for the safe, rapid and unhindered passage of aid humanitarian aid to all civilians in need, in accordance with international humanitarian law.
A question of will
Finally, Msuya called on world leaders attending the new General Assembly to “seize every opportunity” to help save civilian lives and end a war that has left 40% of the Ukrainian population in need of humanitarian aid.
“As it escalates, its death toll will only increase. Protecting civilians and ultimately ending this war is a matter of will“he concluded.
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights estimates that more than 11,700 civilians have been killed and more than 24,600 injured since the large-scale invasion by Russian forces on February 24, 2022.
Across the country, ten million people have been forced to flee their homes.
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