The UN needs security guarantees from Russia to deliver humanitarian aid in Ukraine

Speaking from Kharkiv during a three-day mission to eastern Ukraine, Brown said he was unable to confirm what “if any” aid items Russia had sent to non-government-controlled areas. Aid organizations “have no reliable way of crossing front lines,” he said.

However, she was “hopeful that the Russian Federation offers the security guarantees we need to cross.”

Lights and shadows in the delivery of humanitarian aid

The war in Ukraine has failed to stop the actions of the humanitarian community in that nation and since the beginning of the conflict aid has been distributed to more than twelve million people, said the United Nations humanitarian coordinator for that country.

Brown stressed that this series of actions represents “a tremendous achievement” made in the form of cash transfers and actions in the areas of health, shelter, protection or rehabilitation, as well as access to drinking water.

A success that is overshadowed by the limited access to areas outside the control of the Ukrainian authorities during this half year of conflict.

“But at that time, we have reached less than a million people in non-government controlled areas. We often do not get the security guarantees that we require from the Russian Federation to cross the front line. We have personnel in those areas, which confirms that there are great humanitarian needs. And this is a big concern,” he explained.

However, he specified that deliveries can be made “near the front line of combat” and detailed that today a convoy was dispatched whose final destination is an enclave five kilometers from that area.

Plans for the winter months are already underway

Brown went on to say that as winter approaches, repairs to windows, doors and heating systems will be needed, especially for older people, many of whom live in rural areas.

“We are working on a plan that allows us to check their status and that includes local volunteers,” he said, detailing that the provision of services and ensuring the preparation of communities for the winter months are the current “focus areas”.

“We have to support people, whoever they are, and I hope that the Russian Federation will offer the necessary security guarantees to cross [la primera línea de combate]. That’s all we want to do: supply insulin to hospitals, provide blankets, mattresses, fuel if we can, and repair windows and doors. It’s not complicated”.

Brown revealed that the preparation of the general plan for winter will include hospitals and clinics that need electricity generators, places that need cash transfers, points where the UN Refugee Agency and the International Organization for Migration have to make arrangements, and methods to verify the physical well-being of workers.

Six months after the Russian invasion, almost 18 million people, around 40% of the country’s population, are in need of humanitarian aid.

© WFP/Paul Anthem

The World Food Program distributes food in Ukraine

A new sculpture for Kharkiv’s “renaissance”

The Economic Commission for Europe reported today that the renowned Italian artist Michelangelo Pistoletto will offer Kharkiv a sculpture inspired by the “renaissance” of that city.

The initiative is created in response to the desire of the mayor of that city to rebuild the city and send a signal of recovery to its citizens and the world.

“The Kharkiv sculpture is a social statement, highlighting the rebirth of all humanity,” said Pistoletto.

“It is not a monument that is made after a war: this work of art is born to prevent war, not to follow it. It is time that we change our cultural paradigms and even business models and understand that peace and sustainability are the only viable options,” he added.

In 2015 and on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the United Nations, Pistoletto created a permanent installation at the Organization’s Office in Geneva, representing the essence of the concept of rebirth.