Category: Europe

According to a report issued by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, during 2022, multiple nations in the region had their warmest year on record but the expanded use of renewable energy provides a silver lining. Extreme heat, drought and wildfire, marine heatwaves, unprecedented glacier melt – the State of the Climate in… Read More

The destruction earlier this month of the Soviet-era dam and hydroelectric plant in an area reportedly under Russian control since its invasion in 2022, has caused widespread flooding across southern Ukraine, washing away homes, destroying sanitation and sewage systems and crippling water supplies. In a statement, Humanitarian Coordinator Denise Brown vowed that the UN would press on with relief efforts,… Read More

On Friday, relief supplies were delivered to vulnerable families in the rural Kherson region close to the front line.  The destruction of the dam on 6 June has impacted water supplies, sanitation and sewage systems, in addition to health services.  Boat deliveries  As part of the aid effort, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and UN World Food Programme (WFP) transported… Read More

WHO’s representative in Ukraine Dr. Jarno Habicht told reporters that after the collapse of the dam caused severe flooding and massive displacement, the agency’s primary concern was the potential outbreak of waterborne diseases such as cholera and typhoid, as well as rodent-borne diseases. The agency’s teams were monitoring the situation on the ground and were ready to scale up support,… Read More

That’s the latest from the UN’s aid coordination office (OCHA), which tweeted that the UN and its humanitarian partners have delivered vital supplies, mainly water, hygiene items and food, to cover the needs of nearly 180,000 people, despite the difficult conditions. The number of people reached with aid is up five-fold since 9 June. “Drinking water continues to be an… Read More

“We need to focus on an emergency response right now”, he said, highlighting a three-step plan to provide humanitarian assistance to all Ukrainians impacted, who have faced more than one year of war following Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. “We need to save people and get them to places where they are safe and can eat, and get safe… Read More

Denise Brown, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, offered reassurance to Dmytro Kuleba that UN agencies and other humanitarian partners have been delivering water, food and cash to those displaced or suffering the impact of the dam breach, and collapse of the crucial hydroelectric plant in the southeast region near the city of Kherson. Expanding support “Plans are now being made, also in partnership… Read More

Homes have been flooded, forcing many to leave, and access to water, specifically clean water, is emerging as a major challenge. In an interview with UN News, International Organization for Migration (IOM) spokesperson Olivia Headon, speaking from Kyiv, said the agency along with other humanitarian partners, had been rushing clean water supplies to areas that are receiving evacuees, “and also… Read More

Water from the reservoir of the Kakhovka dam is also used to cool the nearby Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant (ZNPP), Europe’s largest, which has been under constant threat since being occupied by Russian forces early in the conflict.  The UN Office in Ukraine tweeted that “thousands of people in Ukraine are in peril” following the major breach in the Soviet-era Kakhovka… Read More

Russian attacks overnight, killed three people – including the girl’s mother – and wounded 11 others, according to news reports. It followed a reported 17 strikes on the capital during May, and the fourth this week. More than 1,500 killed, injured Ms. Brown expressed her sympathy to the families of “over 1,500 children killed and injured in Ukraine” since Russia’s… Read More