Maintenance of peace and security of Ukraine - Security Council, 9720th meeting

Moscow’s Military Escalation Exacerbating Humanitarian Situation in Ukraine, Acting Emergency Relief Coordinator Tells Security Council

• Categories: Meetings & Events / Security Council
• Video Length: 02:03:33
• Production Date: 10 September 2024
• Asset Language: Arabic; English; French; Russian; Spanish; Chinese; Original
• Personal Subject: JOYCE MSUYA; SERGIY KYSLYTSYA
• Corporate Name: SECURITY COUNCIL
• Subject Topical: PERIODIC REPORTS; WAR; DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY; DEATH; BALLISTIC MISSILES; AERIAL BOMBINGS; SOVEREIGNTY; PHYSICAL INFRASTRUCTURE; ENERGY; ELECTRIC POWER
• Geographic Subject: UKRAINE; RUSSIAN FEDERATION
• MAMS Id: 3253719
• Parent Id: 3253060

Description

As civilians across Ukraine spend endless hours in bomb shelters, the military escalation and shifting front lines are exacerbating the humanitarian situation in that country, the Security Council heard today. 

Joyce Msuya, Acting Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Acting Emergency Relief Coordinator, noted that since 24 February 2022, over 11,700 civilians have been killed in Ukraine while 10 million people across the country have been forced to flee their homes. 

While civilians in the front line areas of Donetsk and parts of Kharkiv are among those most heavily impacted, attacks elsewhere have caused significant civilian casualties and damage to essential infrastructure. Large-scale and systematic strikes against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure continue to drastically reduce electricity capacity, and outages limit access to water, sewage, heating, mobile networks, the Internet and public transportation. 

The start of the new school year has been marred by constant attacks and damage to schools, she pointed out. Drawing attention to the disproportionate impact of the war on women and children, she noted the recent expansion of fighting to new areas on both sides of the border. So far in 2024, some 6.2 million people received humanitarian assistance in Ukraine, she said, noting that this includes emergency relief and relocation support to those evacuating and improving living conditions for internally displaced people in collective sites. 

She also expressed concern about the 1.5 million people who remain out of reach of humanitarian efforts in regions occupied by the Russian Federation. Noting that the Ukraine Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan is still less than half funded, she said: “this war has gone on far too long” and left more than 14.6 million people, or 40 per cent of the population, in need of humanitarian assistance. 

Related Sites and Documents

S/PV.9720

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