Category: Europe

“Winter is coming,… all we want to do provide insulin to the hospitals, provide blankets, provide mattresses…it’s not complicated”, said Denise Brown, the Resident Coordinator for the UN in Ukraine.  Humanitarian Coordinator Denise Brown is starting today a three-day mission to eastern & central Ukraine to see first-hand the humanitarian impact of the war and the response. This is… Read More

Cluster bombs are weapons designed to be scattered over large areas, containing several hundred “mini-bombs” called sub-munitions. As they make no distinction between civilians, civilian property and military targets, cluster bombs violate the rules of international humanitarian law.  Cluster munitions are not only dangerous in the short-term, but pose severe long term risks to local communities.  It is reported that… Read More

The “sad and tragic milestone” coincided with Ukraine’s 31st anniversary of independence, and Mr. Guterres congratulated the country’s people. Today marks a sad and tragic milestone – six months since Russia’s 24 February invasion of Ukraine. Thousands of civilians have been killed. Millions have been displaced. The people of Ukraine and beyond need peace and they need peace now. —… Read More

Matilda Bogner, head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, called for greater efforts to spare and protect civilians.  The Mission has been in the country since 2014, when it began work documenting violations in the east stemming from the fighting between Government forces and pro-Russian separatists. Ms. Bogner said the resulting escalation of the eight-year long armed… Read More

Recent weeks have seen an escalation in shelling in and around Europe’s largest nuclear facility.  The Council meeting was requested by Russia, whose forces have occupied the plant since March, or shortly after the start of the war, while Ukrainian personnel continue to carry out their on-site operations.  ‘Suicidal’ threat  Ms. DiCarlo reiterated the UN’s ongoing grave concern over the… Read More

Before dawn on 24 February, Kharkiv took a fierce hit. Within 24 hours, Russian troops had reached the northern suburbs, just 30 kilometres from the Ukraine-Russia border. Despite outnumbering the Ukrainian forces, the invading army was unable to enter the city. “I am from Kharkiv, from the largest residential area in Ukraine – Saltivka, where about 400,000 people lived before… Read More

OHCHR spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said the trials by the Russian-backed authorities could begin in the occupied city, possibly within days – and warned that such a process could amount to a war crime. “We are very concerned about the manner in which this is being done. There are pictures in the media of cages being built in Mariupol’s philharmonic hall,… Read More

“Once again, as in all wars, the reckless decisions of adults are putting children at extreme risk. There are no armed operations of this kind that do not result in children being harmed,” UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said in a statement.  Likely underestimate  The Russian invasion of Ukraine began nearly six months ago, and UNICEF has verified that at… Read More

In a dark, overcrowded cellar in Kharkiv, Ukraine, 40-year-old Natalia is hiding from almost constant air raids nearby. Together with her son, niece, uncle and mother, she lives in one of the most dangerous areas of the city. Sleeping on a cold floor alongside dozens of others, sometimes she does not see the sky for several days. “We were under… Read More

Mr. Guterres flew into Istanbul on Saturday morning from Chisinau, Moldova – where he was hosted for a working dinner with President Maia Sandu the previous evening – and boarded a pilot boat in the Sea of Marmara, where he sailed next to the M/V Brave Commander, the World Food Programme (WFP) ship which picked up more than 23,000 of… Read More