Ukraine: Humanitarian Access Snapshot (May to June 2024)

The escalation of hostilities in Donetska Oblast and the Russian cross-border incursion into Kharkivska Oblast, as well as the high intensity of attacks along the Dnipro River in Khersonska Oblast, remained the primary impediment to humanitarians' access to assist people in need. Humanitarian action in the Ukrainian territories occupied by the Russian Federation remained severely constrained.

Humanitarian workers faced dangerous conditions, especially close to the front line.
Nineteen incidents associated with the security environment were reported by humanitarians working in areas affected by hostilities. Two humanitarians were killed, one of them in the line of duty. Also, 12 humanitarians were injured, including a humanitarian deminer in Mykolaivska Oblast, in 8 incidents. The majority of such incidents occurred within 5 km of the front line. Strikes in major cities with a significant presence of humanitarian actors — Dnipro and Kharkiv — resulted in four humanitarian casualties.
Damage to humanitarian assets and facilities due to strikes continued to limit humanitarian operations. Ten incidents affected humanitarian operations in Dnipropetro-vska, Donetska, Kharkivska, Khersonska, Mykolaivska, Sumska and Zaporizka oblasts with reported damage to five assets, three offices and facilities and two warehouses. These incidents were almost evenly distributed between front-line and rear locations, demonstrating the challenging operational environment for relief efforts across the most affected regions of Ukraine.

The Humanitarian Access Working Group, through the Access Monitoring and Reporting Framework (AMRF), reported 72 cases impacting humanitarian activities in May-June 2024, more than doubling the 27 incidents recorded over the previous two months and the 34 instances of access restriction documented in May-June 2023. The highest increase of reports was in relation to the military mobilization of humanitarian staff or contractors, with 46 cases in total. The consequences of these incidents ranged from the loss of staff, including key personnel, to delays in implementing projects due to self-limiting road movements to contractors' failures to meet project commitments, among others.
The adoption and enforcement of new legislation on mobilization are having direct and indirect impacts on the ability of humanitarian organizations to assist affected people in a timely and effective manner. If this trend continues, it could reduce the operational capacity of humanitarian partners.

Military administration permits continue to be enforced for Khersonska Oblast, with additional authorizations now required for two hromadas in the north of Kharkivska Oblast. In Khersonska Oblast, the use of the Humanitarian Notification System (HNS) has contributed to facilitating humanitarian organizations’ access to people in need. In Kharkivska Oblast, restrictions are reported to be more pronounced due to the intensity of hostilities during the period of the report.