Today's top news: Ukraine

Ukraine

Attacks intensified during the New Year holiday, causing multiple civilian casualties, including among children and journalists, in several parts of the country. The Ukrainian authorities reported more than 50 civilian casualties on 31 December alone.

In the capital, Kyiv, a hotel, residential homes and several education facilities, including a university, were damaged in the latest attacks. Two children were injured due to hostilities in Khersonska oblast on December 31st, and one of them — a 13-year-old boy — was evacuated to the children’s hospital in Kherson, which itself came under shelling in the early hours of January 1st, according to the Governor.

Meanwhile, intensive fighting continues in eastern Donetska and Luhanska oblasts, with civilian casualties and civilian infrastructure damage reported on both sides of the front line.

Despite continued attacks, the UN and our humanitarian partners continue to deliver support to the people in need in the most affected communities.
 
On 28 December, an inter-agency convoy delivered food, water, blankets, emergency shelter kits and other supplies from the International Organization for Migration, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees, UNICEF and the World Food Programme to the front-line towns of Lyman and Sviatohirsk in Donetska oblast. Communities in both towns have been exposed to heavy fighting, which destroyed houses and critical infrastructure and decimated access to basic services. The people who still live in these areas are mostly older people and people with limited mobility.