Ukraine Winter Attacks: Humanitarian Impact of Intensified Strikes and Hostilities - Flash Update #6 (16 Feb 2024) [EN/UK]

HIGHLIGHTS

  • A new wave of Russian attacks across Ukraine on 15 February, compounded by hostilities along the front line over the last few days, has caused more civilian deaths and injuries -- including among children -- and disrupted critical services for hundreds of thousands of people.

  • As temperatures remain below zero in many places, thousands of customers were left without critical services, including electricity and heating, as a result of attacks impacting energy facilities.

  • Access to education and health care has also been further disrupted by attacks impacting educational institutions, as well as medical personnel, patients, health facilities and supplies, particularly in the east and south of the country.

  • Aid organizations continued efforts to provide emergency assistance in response to the latest attacks, including repair materials, psychological support and medical assistance, complementing other ongoing humanitarian interventions.

HUMANITARIAN SITUATION

A new wave of Russian attacks across Ukraine on 15 February, compounded by hostilities along the front line over the last few days, has caused more civilian deaths and injuries and disrupted critical services for hundreds of thousands of people as the winter continues. Homes, schools, hospitals and other civilian infrastructure were damaged or destroyed.

As temperatures remain below zero in many places,** thousands of customers were left without critical services, including electricity and heating,** as a result of attacks impacting energy facilities. On 12 and 13 February, power supply was reportedly disrupted for some 30,000 customers -- families, businesses and institutions -- and 10,000 families were reported without water supply in Dnipropetrovska Oblast, according to estimates by the authorities. Even though the electricity supply was promptly restored, the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine reported significant damage to the energy equipment, which has potential consequences for further disruption of services. As a consequence, and in anticipation of an additional load on the critical systems in Dnipro City if the temperature drops, the municipal authorities evacuated patients from a palliative care hospital and switched six schools to online learning on 13 February. Heating was also temporarily disrupted in Kherson City. The wave of attacks on 15 February interrupted power supply in Lvivska and Kharkivska oblasts, according to humanitarian partners on the ground. Furthermore, the Ministry of Energy reported further damage to a power plant in Donetska Oblast, which had been hit several times since December 2023. In this oblast, over 50 villages and towns are already without electricity due to the damage caused by the months of hostilities.

Damage to water and waste-water infrastructure in Kharkivska Oblast has increased in the past two weeks due to attacks, which limits providers' capacities for repairs and impacts people's access to water, hygiene and sanitation services. In Donetska Oblast, where access to water has been challenging since the escalation of the war, further damage to the Karlivka filtration station during the latest attacks affected the water pipeline and station facilities, with the backup water source installed in May 2023 also damaged, impacting water access for people in Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad.

**Access to health care has also been further disrupted by attacks impacting personnel, patients, health facilities and supplies, particularly in the east and south of the country. **On 13 February, a hospital, including its maternity ward, was damaged in Selydove Town, Donetska Oblast, killing three civilians and injuring 11 patients and a health-care worker. The attack prompted the evacuation of patients to nearby medical facilities. This was the second time since November 2023 that this particular hospital was damaged, limiting already constrained access to vital health care in the area. Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine Denise Brown condemned the attack, underlining that hospitals and civilians seeking medical care must be protected under international humanitarian law. Over the last few days, additional health facilities were reportedly affected in Kharkivska and Khersonska oblasts. Since the escalation of the war in February 2022, WHO has documented over 1,570 attacks on health, including some 34 since 29 December 2023.

Attacks impacting educational facilities across the country, as highlighted in the joint statement by UNICEF and WHO on 8 February, continue to hamper the educational process, already disrupted for millions of children. This week alone, the national police recorded damage to a school and a kindergarten in Niu-York Town, Donetska Oblast, east of Ukraine. While on 15 February, strikes damaged four more education facilities in Lviv and Zaporizhzhia cities.

**The recent waves of attacks have led to further destruction and damage of hundreds of homes across Ukraine, putting people at further risk amid cold temperatures. **For instance, a large-scale fire at the oil storage facility caused by an attack in Kharkiv on 10 February, which was extinguished only on 12 February, destroyed a dozen nearby houses. Since February 2022, a staggering 2 million homes in Ukraine have been impacted -- nearly 10 per cent of all Ukrainian houses, according to the latest Ukraine Recovery and Reconstruction Needs Assessment, uprooting millions of people.

**In front-line areas unabated hostilities led to more civilian casualties, including **children. Three children were killed in an attack in Kharkiv on 10 February, according to the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (HRMMU). Furhermore, a mother and her child were killed during an attack in Selydove, Donetska Oblast, on 13 February, according to the authorities. Between 24 February 2022 and 31 January 2024, HRMMU verified almost 10,500 civilians killed and close to 20,000 injured across Ukraine, including nearly 580 children killed and 1,300 children injured.

HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE

Aid organizations continued to provide emergency assistance in response to the latest attacks, complementing other ongoing humanitarian interventions.

On 15 February in Zaporizhzhia, Shelter/Non-Food Items Cluster -- NGOs Carias Zaporizhzhia, Posmiska UA, Proliska, Sontse UA and others -- delivered repair materials to families whose homes had been damaged by the attacks. In Lviv, on the same day, humanitarians provided assistance to civilians, where UNHCR and Rokada NGO distributed plastic and tarpaulin sheets to cover the damage in the buildings impacted by an attack. In Selydove, Donetska Oblast, on 14 February, local NGO Angels of Salvation also delivered emergency repair materials. In Kharkiv on 10 February, partners were on the ground from early morning with repair materials and critical supplies to affected families.

Additionally, Protection Cluster partners, including Rokada in Lviv and Mission Proliska and Right to Protection in Dnipro, Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia, as well as other cities and communities across Ukraine, mobilized psychologists to the sites of attacks, offering support to those affected by the traumatic events. They also provided legal consultations on site.

In Selydove, Donetska Oblast, where a hospital was hit and sustained severe damage, **Health Cluster **partners, in coordination with authorities and hospital administration, supported the transportation of patients to nearby medical facilities. Médecins Sans Frontières and Cadus International transferred 10 patients to three hospitals in the neighbouring towns of Myrnohrad and Pokrovsk. The hospital is also supported by UNFPA, which coordinates perinatal support to the patients following the transfer of the maternity ward to Pokrovsk. To support hospitals receiving patients transferred from Selydove, WHO, INTERSOS and INGO Project Hope provided medical supplies, including trauma and emergency surgery kits and dressing materials, in addition to hygiene products and drinkable water. Since 1 February 2024, Health Cluster partners have responded with emergency medical care in more than 11 attacks.

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Cluster partners Project Hope and UNICEF are providing safe drinking water for people evacuated from Selydove hospital, while Water Mission provides several safe water production points for people in the area. Humanitarians continue to provide assistance related to water, sanitation and hygiene services in other parts of the oblast, where due to intense ground fighting, access to water is severely disrupted. For instance, INGO Samaritan's Purse, in coordination with local authorities, put a filtering station in service in Siverska Hromada, which had been cut off water, gas and electricity for months. UNICEF, IOM, SDC and ACF are providing support to repair water and waste-water infrastructure.

Aid organizations also continue activities to provide critical winter-related assistance. This included solid fuel and cash for fuel to ensure heating to more than 710,000 people; winter clothes for 230,000 people; and support for the operation and maintenance of district heating systems for over 410,000 people, among other critical assistance during the below-zero cold winter season in Ukraine.

For more information, please contact OCHA Ukraine:

Tanya Lyubimova, tanya.lyubimova@un.org | Lyudmyla Malyuk, lyudmyla.malyuk@un.org | Yaroslav Berezovskyi, yaroslav.berezovskyi@un.org