Ukraine: Humanitarian Impact Situation Report (As of 12:00 p.m. (EET) on 4 April 2022) [EN/RU/UK]

This report is produced by OCHA Ukraine in collaboration with humanitarian partners. It covers the period from 12:00 p.m. on 1 April to 12:00 p.m. on 4 April. The next report will be issued on or around 6 April.

KEY FIGURES (FLASH APPEAL 2022)

12M people in need
(Source: 2022 Flash Appeal)

6M people targeted
(Source: 2022 Flash Appeal)

1.4M people reached
(Source: OCHA)

$1.1B funding required (US$)
(Source: 2022 Flash Appeal)

53% funded
(Source: FTS)

HIGHLIGHTS

• The World Food Programme (WFP) has assisted 1 million people in the eastern, northern and southern oblasts of Ukraine since 24 February. WFP continues to build up its food stocks in the country, pre-positioning close to 40,000 tons of bulk food, mostly procured locally, as it aims to reach more than 3 million people with food and cash assistance in the country.

• The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is supporting the procurement of more than 14 tons of liquefied chlorine for water purification to support the weekly operations of the Kharkiv Vodokanal water system (Kharkivska oblast, east). This will help ensure access to safe water for approximately 900,000 people in some of the hardest-hit areas of eastern Ukraine.

• The Ukrainian Red Cross Society (URCS) has reached more than 400,000 people across the country with multisectoral assistance, dispatching more than 1,000 tons of aid.

• As of 31 March, nearly 18,500 people across Ukraine have received multipurpose cash assistance totaling US$3.2 million from UN agencies and humanitarian partners. As growing numbers of people are registered at a faster pace, these figures are expected to increase quickly.

• Human Rights Watch (HRW) has documented several cases of apparent laws-of-war violations against civilians in Chernihiv (Chernihivska oblast, north), Kharkiv and areas on the outskirts of the capital Kyiv (Kyivska oblast, north), including Bucha, Vorzel and Zabuchchia. UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for an independent investigation to bring about effective accountability, an appeal echoed by the UN Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine Osnat Lubrani.

• In less than six weeks, the civilian death toll (1,430) of the ongoing military offensive has already surpassed the total number of civilian deaths from the last seven years of armed conflict in eastern Ukraine combined (1,320 civilians killed in 2015-2021).

SITUATION OVERVIEW

General humanitarian situation. The situation in the hard-hit eastern, northern and southern areas of Ukraine is becoming increasingly dire. Unmet needs continue to accumulate as access to food, water, medicines and other basic necessities remains severely restricted. Ongoing clashes prevent people trapped in partially or fully encircled cities from safely evacuating while simultaneously blocking much-needed aid from reaching those most in need. Some of the worst-affected areas include Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Kherson (Khersonska oblast, south), areas surrounding Kyiv, Mariupol (Donetska oblast, east), Okhtyrka (Sumska oblast, north-east), Izium (Kharkivska oblast), Sievierodonetsk (Luhanska oblast, east), Trostianets (Sumska oblast), Volnovakha (Donetska oblast) and Sumy (Sumska oblast), as well as settlements in Donetska and Luhanska oblasts located close to the areas of active fighting.
As of 3 April, the civilian toll of the ongoing military offensive stands at 3,527 – including 1,430 killed – according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). In Donetska and Luhanska oblasts, civilian casualties are highest in Government-controlled areas (GCA), with OHCHR reporting 1,198 casualties – including 405 killed and 793 injured – compared to 320 civilian casualties in the non-Government-controlled areas (NGCA) of these oblasts (67 killed and 253 injured). In the rest of Ukraine, OHCHR reports 2,009 civilian casualties.

In less than six weeks, the civilian death toll of the ongoing military offensive already surpassed the total number of civilian deaths from the last seven years (2015-2021) of armed conflict in eastern Ukraine combined, when around 1,320 civilians were killed. The actual number of civilian casualties across Ukraine is likely much higher and will continue to rise as fighting intensifies in the eastern and southern parts of the country.

Damages and losses. The Ministry of Economy says that Ukraine’s economy shrunk by 16 per cent between January and April this year, projecting a 40 per cent decline by the end of 2022 – double of the recent projection issued by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal says that economic losses due to the ongoing military offensive may exceed $1 trillion. As of 3 April, Ukravtodor – the state-owned road construction company – estimates that around 23,000 km of roads have been damaged or destroyed, causing approximately UAH874 billion ($29.73 billion) in damage, while more than 270 road infrastructures, like bridges and overpasses, have been destroyed.

Laws-of-war violations. Between 27 February and 14 March, HRW documented several cases of apparent laws-of-war violations against civilians in Chernihiv, Kharkiv and areas on the outskirts of the capital, including Bucha, Vorzel and Zabuchchia. These violations include a case of repeated rape in Kharkiv, summary executions, and unlawful violence and threats against civilians. There are also reports of looting of civilian property, including food, clothing and firewood, by the Russian Federation forces in different parts of the country. HRW says that all parties in Ukraine must abide by international law, including the Geneva Conventions, international law of occupation and international human rights law, adding that those who have committed these abuses are responsible for war crimes.

In Bucha, a small town around 30 km northwest of Kyiv, the bodies of at least 20 civilian men were found on a single street following the withdrawal of the Russian Federation forces. According to Mayor Anatoliy Fedoruk, more than 300 civilianswere killed – 280 are reportedly buried in mass graves – some of whom received inhumane treatment reportedly at the hands of the Russian Federation forces. UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed his shock at the gruesome images coming out of Bucha, calling for an independent investigation to bring about effective accountability, a sentiment echoed by the UN Resident Coordinator/Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine and many world leaders.

Northern Ukraine and capital area. Despite claims that the military offensive on Kyiv and surrounding areas is being scaled back, on 3 April, missile strikes hit Vasylkiv – a small town of 36,000 people about 32 km outside Kyiv – leaving several civilians injured. As the Russian Federation forces reportedly retreat from some of the hardest-hit areas in and around the capital, the extent of destruction and civilian casualties is becoming more apparent.

According to Kyiv City Council, more than 150 residential buildings and over 70 schools have been damaged since 24 February in the capital. Still, the gravest humanitarian consequences of the ongoing military offensive are seen in towns outside Kyiv, like Bucha, Irpin and Motyzhyn, where local authorities say civilians have been purposely killed, some reportedly shot in the back of the head with their hands tied behind their backs. According to the Prosecutor General’s Office, as of 3 April, at least 410 bodies have been discovered in towns near Kyiv.

In Irpin – around 25 km northwest of the capital – weeks of intense clashes have left people in desperate need of safe water, food, generators, and plastic sheets and tarpaulins to help insulate and conduct partial repairs of damaged homes.

Just 3,500 of Irpin’s 60,000 pre-escalation population remains in the ravaged town, with only the most vulnerable, including older persons and people with disabilities, still there. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) reports that Irpin is only accessible by land cruiser as the streets remain littered with unexploded ordnance. On 2 April, Mayor Oleksandr Markushyn said that more than 640 explosive devices were deactivated in Irpin, adding that the extent of unexploded ordnance contamination will prevent people from returning to what remains of their homes and communities for at least a month as authorities clear out large quantities of explosive devices.

In neighbouring Chernihivska oblast, the oblast capital Chernihiv – currently home to only 130,000 people after half the preescalation population fled amid escalating tensions – authorities report that there is no centralized heating and limited electricity and gas supply in the city. URCS reports that residents in Chernihiv have been without water for more than three weeks after the city’s centralized water supply was destroyed by shelling, generating acute water needs as water supplies are running out. On 3 April, the mayor of Chernihiv Vladyslav Atroshenko said that approximately 70 per cent of the city was destroyed following weeks of relentless attacks. As the humanitarian situation worsens, the city remains cut off from areas controlled by Ukraine since the main bridge over the Desna River, leading out of the city south toward Kyiv, was destroyed on 23 March, making it difficult for much-needed aid to reach those most in need.

Eastern Ukraine continues to bear the brunt of the ongoing military offensive. Fears are growing that already-violent clashes and intense shelling will only worsen as the Russian Federation forces double down on taking control of the Donbas region following a series of setbacks in their attempts to encircle Kyiv.

On 2 April, active hostilities in Lozova (Kharkivska oblast) reportedly killed at least four people and damaged homes and other critical infrastructure, leaving more than 60,000 residents cut off from the water supply and another 40,000 without electricity. That same day, the Governor of Kharkivska oblast reported that a hospital in Balakliia – a small town in the Izium district (raion) – was partially destroyed.
On 3 April, intense shelling in the Slobidskyi district of Kharkiv – the country’s second-largest city – left at least seven people dead and nearly three dozen injured, including three children, according to the oblast prosecutor’s office. Additionally, at least 10 homes and a trolley bus depot were damaged. Local authorities report that other areas on the outskirts of Kharkiv were also shelled on 4 April, including Derhachi, Pyatykhatky and Saltivka. In Derhachi, on 3 April, three civilians were killed and seven others injured after a residential neighbourhood was shelled.

In Izium, the setting of the most intense clashes across Kharkivska oblast, Deputy Mayor Volodymyr Matsokin says that 80 per cent of residential buildings have been destroyed. The city and surrounding suburbs, like Kamianka, Sukha and Topalske, remain completely cut off. Around 15,000-20,000 people are still trapped in Izium, where they lack electricity, heat and safe water, and require immediate humanitarian assistance and safe evacuation corridors. Meanwhile, in Luhanska oblast, hostilities are intensifying in Popasna, Rubizhne and Sievierodonetsk (Luhanska oblast). On 3 April, two volunteers were reportedly killed while attempting to deliver aid to affected people in Novodruzhesk (Luhanska oblast).

On 3 April, signs of an impending escalation pushed the head of the Donetska Oblast State Administration, Pavlo Kyrylenko, to call on residents to leave the oblast, adding that authorities will facilitate evacuations, although active hostilities in several locations may hinder the safe movement of people. In recent days, towns across the oblast have come under constant attack, including Avdiivka, Krasnohorivka, Mariinka, Svitlodarsk and Vuhledar, while the humanitarian situation in Mariupol and Volnovakha remains acute.

Southern Ukraine. Attacks across the country’s southern oblasts, including Khersonska, Mykolaivska and Odeska, are becoming increasingly more frequent and devastating. Several missiles struck Mykolaiv (Mykolaivska oblast) and Odesa (Odeska oblast) during the reporting period, hitting residential areas and civilian infrastructure. On 1 April, multiple missiles hit the Odeskyi district (raion) from the direction of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, leaving at least two dead and another 15 wounded.

In Mykolaiv, airstrikes on 3 April left one person dead and more than a dozen injured. As of 4 April, the civilian death toll from the 29 March attack on the Mykolaiv Oblast State Administration building has risen to 36 as search-and-rescue crews continue to comb through the rubble in search of survivors. Attacks in Mykolaiv also damaged a children’s hospital, an orphanage and an oncology centre; and at least 14 people were injured. In neighbouring Ochakiv – a port town with some 15,000 inhabitants – at least seven people were killed and nearly 20 injured by missile strikes on 3 April.

Civilian evacuations. Between 1 and 3 April, the Government of Ukraine says that nearly 13,180 people were evacuated through agreed-upon humanitarian corridors, including just over 2,000 people from Mariupol, nearly 1,170 from southeastern Zaporizka oblast (Berdiansk, Melitopol, Polohu, Orikhiv and Vasylivka) and more than 5,850 from Luhanska oblast (Kreminna, Lysychansk, Nyzhne, Rubizhne and Sievierodonetsk).

At the time of writing, evacuation processes for residents of Mariupol are underway, according to Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk, with 15 buses departing from Zaporizhzhia (Zaporizka oblast) en route to Mariupol and another seven from the ICRC heading from Manhush (Donetska oblast, NGCA). In Luhanska oblast, despite agreed-upon evacuation corridors out of Lysychansk, Nyzhne, Popasna and Rubizhne today, at the time of writing, continued shelling in the Hirska community (hromada), including airstrikes in Hirske, Popasna and Zolote, will likely prevent evacuations.

Meanwhile, on 3 April, the Russian Federation reported that 16,648 people, including nearly 2,442 children, were evacuated from affected areas to the Russian Federation. In total, the Russian Federation reports that 602,106 people, including more than 119,847 children, have crossed into the Russian Federation from Ukraine. In addition, the Russian Federation reports that 125,616 persons were evacuated from Mariupol to date, including 1,784 persons on 3 April.