The war-induced trauma to about 10 million people in Ukraine is a major concern of humanitarian teams on the ground, along with the approach of the frigid winter, the United Nations resident coordinator said Tuesday.
During a briefing on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine in New York hosted by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Denise Brown said that trauma is one of the major new dimensions of the Russian war in Ukraine, and that about 10 million people need some form of support for this.
“Trauma is becoming the new battle. Different levels of trauma, whether it’s from demobilized soldiers, children hearing bombings every day, or just people returning to work. We really need to keep this issue on the radar.”appealed to the UN coordinator.
Many elderly people in Ukraine, he said, are “totally confused by what is happening”.
Brown said another of the concerns that “take away the night’s rest” is the approach of winter and its impact on Ukrainians who have destroyed their homes, with no way to warm up.
“We won’t be able to get everywhere. We need winter clothes, blankets, mattresses, food, power generators. Very basic things that everyone needs for a safe winter. But the damage to the infrastructure that affected the power generators is not something that is humanitarian. help can reach. We need help from the Member States”said.
The Canadian, who has also been a humanitarian coordinator in Ukraine since July last year, emphasized to the diplomatic corps present at the meeting that lack of money is not the problem, as “enormous financial aid has been obtained” for the Ukrainians.
Unsolved is gaining access to people who are in places not controlled by the Ukrainian government.
“The war is not over and the humanitarian emergency is not over. For the first time I did not have to focus on fundraising, which allows me to focus on a different kind of work. (…) This is different : it goes not for drought, with crop failures, but for a war that kills people. The destruction is total in some places, there is nothing left.”noted.
“A week ago, there was an explosion just over a kilometer from my office in Ukraine. [equipas humanitárias] we are in the same situation as many people, but the UN will not leave Ukraine”insured.
Joyce Msuya, Deputy Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator at OCHA, warned that humanitarian aid has only been delivered to places controlled by Kiev, and that aid does not reach places dominated by Russian forces. not guaranteed.
“The situation will worsen as the bombing continues and winter approaches”rated Msuya.
“I call for full respect for international humanitarian law in all military operations — with constant concern to conserve civilians and civilian property, including critical infrastructure”he added.
The military offensive launched by Russia in Ukraine on Feb. 24 has already resulted in more than 13 million people fleeing — more than six million internally displaced persons and more than 7.6 million to European countries — according to the latest data from the UN, which ranks this refugee crisis as the worst in Europe since World War II (1939-1945).
The Russian invasion – justified by Russian President Vladimir Putin, with the need to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for Russia’s security – was condemned by the international community at large, which has responded by sending arms to Ukraine and to impose political and economic sanctions on Russia.
According to the UN, since the start of the war, which entered its 237th day this Tuesday, 6,306 civilians have been killed and 9,602 injured, stressing that the number is far below the real number.
Source: DN
