Category: Europe

“This year’s terrible floods and droughts in almost all corners of the planet illustrate the critical importance of water to all aspects of society and the environment,” said the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), which includes 56 member States in Europe, North America and Asia. “More than three billion people depend on water that crosses national borders. This makes… Read More

Speaking in the capital, Kyiv, after an official four-day visit to the country, Volker Türk said that the scale of the damage and destruction that he had seen in Izium was “shocking”. In Bucha, north of Kyiv, where scenes showing civilians lying dead in the street sparked international outrage soon after the departure from the area of Russian forces in… Read More

Amidst ongoing humanitarian operations, Martin Griffiths told ambassadors he had come to brief them in New York on “the widespread death, destruction, displacement, and suffering” taking place since the invasion of 24 February, and the challenges that the continuing violence and winter weather were exacerbating.  “Over 14 million people remain forcibly displaced from their homes in Ukraine, including 6.5 million… Read More

At the regular press briefing in New York, Associate Spokesperson Stéphanie Tremblay told journalists that according to UN humanitarian affairs office OCHA, citing local authorities, strikes affected regions in the north, centre and south, as well as the capital, Kyiv.   “In Odesa, the water supply has been compromised due to the lack of electricity to run the pumps, and the… Read More

As the Russian invasion erodes the security of Ukrainians across the country, the risk to women and girls is two-fold. “There’s no doubt that no one feels safe because of Russia’s war against Ukraine,” says Ms. Kit, “And women and girls have become even less protected from gender-based violence. Rape—usually gang rape—sexual torture, forced nudity, and other forms of abuse… Read More

Updating journalists at a regular press briefing, Stéphane Dujarric recounted Humanitarian Coordinator Denise Brown’s visit over the weekend to Kherson and Mykolaiv where she assessed the humanitarian situation, met with authorities, and monitored the response provided by aid organizations.   She observed that although humanitarians are delivering vital aid, “the needs are immense”.   Making a difference  Ms. Brown saw first-hand how… Read More

“Millions are being plunged into extreme hardship and appalling conditions of life by these strikes”, he said. “Taken as a whole, this raises serious problems under international humanitarian law, which requires a concrete and direct military advantage for each object attacked”. Racking up casualties According to the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU), on Wednesday further missile strikes… Read More

Ms. DiCarlo referred to the latest wave of Russian missile and drone strikes in Ukraine which, she said, terrorized the citizens of several cities (Kyiv, Odesa, Lviv, Mykolaiv, Kharkiv, and Zaporizhzhia). With winter approaching, the attacks, she said, “renew fears that this winter will be catastrophic for millions of Ukrainians, who face the prospect of months of frigid weather with… Read More

In a statement issued by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said that that blasts yesterday evening and again this morning further underlined “the urgent need for measures to help prevent a nuclear accident there”. “As I have said many times before, you’re playing with fire!”. Renewed shelling In what appeared to be renewed shelling… Read More