The United Nations on Monday announced the delivery of a range of essential supplies to the civilian population of Kherson, less than 72 hours after Ukrainian troops regained control of this city in the south of the country.
In a statement, the United Nations said the operation carried out by various organizations in its system was led by UN Humanitarian Coordinator Denise Brown and enabled, among other things, the delivery of food, water and medicine to thousands of civilians who were missing since Russian troops took the city in the first weeks of last March.
It is the first time since early March that humanitarian aid workers have managed to enter Kherson with humanitarian aid, the international organization said in the same information note.
“The people of Kherson are struggling to meet their basic needs, adding to the trauma of months of continuous bombing, being forced to flee their own homes and witnessing the death of family members in the process. People need urgent support and we’re moving quickly to help,” said Denise Brown.
The city suffers from water and electricity shortages, while markets are short on food and health facilities are short on medicines.
The humanitarian caravan brought food, water, hygiene kits, shelter materials and essential household items, including bedding, thermal blankets and solar lamps, to more than 6,000 people in Kherson.
Next month, Denise Brown added, one of Kherson’s health centers will receive more drugs to treat more than 1,000 patients.
The humanitarian caravan involved the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Food Program (WFP).
According to the United Nations, the humanitarian community will continue to mobilize resources, food and medicine in the coming days to expand operations and provide more aid to people in all areas of the Kherson region, now under Ukrainian control.
In recent weeks, UN humanitarian aid has already supported more than 12,000 people with essential supplies in other towns and villages in the Kherson region, which have since been recovered by the Ukrainian army, including Novovorontsovka, Novooleksandrivka, Velyka Oleksandrivka and Vysokopillia.
So far, humanitarian organizations have helped about 100,000 people, mostly with cash, in the Kherson region.
“With the support of our partners, mainly local organizations, I am confident that we will be able to do much more in the coming days and weeks. We must support the people of Kherson during this time when they need it so much.” he said. the UN Humanitarian Coordinator.
Kherson was one of the regions annexed by Russia in September, along with Lugansk, Donetsk and Zaporijia, an action widely condemned by the international community.
In addition, Kherson is also one of the targets of a counter-offensive that Kiev’s forces launched about two months ago.
Kherson was the only regional capital occupied by Russian troops in the more than eight-month war in Ukraine, which began on February 24 with a Russian invasion of Ukrainian territory.
Source: DN
