This report is produced by OCHA Ukraine in collaboration with humanitarian partners. It covers the period from 3 p.m. (EET) 9 March to 3 p.m. (EET) 10 March.
KEY FIGURES (FLASH APPEAL 2022)
12M people in need
(Source: 2022 Flash Appeal)
6M people targeted
(Source: 2022 Flash Appeal)
$1.1B funding required (US$)
(Source: 2022 Flash Appeal)
10% funded
(Source: FTS)
SITUATION OVERVIEW
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After more than two weeks of intense fighting, civilian casualties continue to mount across the country. Between 4 a.m. on 24 February and midnight on 9 March, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) reports at least 1,506 civilian casualties, including 549 killed.
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On 9 March, the maternity and children’s wards of a prenatal hospital in the centre of Mariupol were destroyed in an attack. Less than a kilometre away, explosions later that day damaged a university and city council building in the city, adding to the scores of homes, grocery stores and other critical infrastructure damaged or destroyed. The civilian toll has yet to be confirmed.
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On 9 March, Ukraine’s state-run nuclear company Energoatom announced that all nuclear facilities in the Chornobyl exclusion zone were without power, warning of a possible nuclear discharge. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) later reported that there has not been any critical impact to the safety of Chornobyl, adding that the plant’s fuel storage pool and volume of cooling water remain sufficient to effectively remove heat without electricity.
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Since 24 February, an estimated 4.2 million people have been forcibly displaced during the Ukraine crisis. This includes 2.3 million refugees who have fled to other countries, as reported by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, and an estimated 1.85 million people internally displaced, according to the Ukraine Protection Cluster. The Protection Cluster further reports that the largest locations of internally displaced people (IDP) are in Zakarpatska (500,600), Lvivska (386,900) and Volynska (169,500) oblasts in the west and north-west of the country. The displaced populations – mainly women, children and older persons – face significant protection risks and require urgent multi-sectoral humanitarian assistance that is tailored to their specific needs.
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The World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed at least 24 attacks on health facilities, health workers and ambulances, killing at least 12 people and injuring 17 more. Amid harsh winter temperatures, WHO says that displaced people face growing risks of hypothermia, frostbite, respiratory diseases and mental health issues, adding that the current conditions on the ground are ripe for the growth and spread of infectious diseases.
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International humanitarian organizations continue to rapidly scale up their response activities against the ever-growing scope and scale of needs across Ukraine. Still, access and security constraints prevent humanitarian organizations from reaching those most affected, with local authorities, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and civil society actors better positioned to respond to people in need quickly and effectively. However, these organizations need safe and predictable windows of silence and safe passage in and out of affected communities, along with access to streamlined additional funding, to sustain and expand life-saving response activities.
SITUATION OVERVIEW
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After more than two weeks of intense fighting, civilian casualties continue to mount across the country. Between 4 a.m. on 24 February and midnight on 9 March, OHCHR reports at least 1,506 civilian casualties, including 549 killed. OHCHR also reports 608 casualties in Donetska and Luhanska oblasts (99 killed and 370 injured in Government-controlled areas, GCA, and 24 killed and 115 injured in non-Government-controlled areas, NGCA) and 898 civilian casualties in other regions of Ukraine.
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The actual number of civilian casualties across Ukraine is likely much higher, as reports in some locations experiencing intense fighting in recent days are still pending corroboration. In Mariupol (Donetska oblast, east) alone, local authorities claim that around 1,300 civilians have been killed since the military offensive began on 24 February.
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On 9 March, a 12-hour ceasefire agreed to by both sides of the conflict largely failed to facilitate the wide-scale evacuation of people trapped in dire conditions across Ukraine. While evacuations did get underway in five of the six cities agreed to for the safe passage of civilians, including Enerhodar (Zaporizka oblast, south) and Sumy (Sumska oblast, north-east), there was limited movement of people out of the worst-affected areas, like Mariupol (Donetska oblast, east) and the satellite towns of Kyiv (north).
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In Bucha – a city of nearly 37,000 people north of Kyiv – forces reportedly blocked the evacuation of people through an agreed safe passage route as some 50 buses attempted to evacuate conflict-affected people. In Izyum – home to around 46,600 people in Kharkivska oblast (east) – local authorities reported that the safe evacuation of civilians could not be carried out as hostilities continued unabated.
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Nevertheless, national authorities report that more than 51,500 people were successfully evacuated between 8 and 9 March, mainly from the cities of Sumy and Enerhodar. The Russian Federation reports that it has so far evacuated around 187,000 people from Ukraine towards Russia.
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The delay of civilian evacuations from the conflict-ravaged city of Mariupol has left hundreds of thousands of people trapped in a rapidly deteriorating humanitarian crisis. On 9 March, attacks on civilian infrastructure in the alreadydevastated city escalated. Attacks reportedly destroyed the maternity and children’s wards of a hospital in the centre of Mariupol. The civilian toll has yet to be confirmed.
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Less than a kilometre away, explosions later that day damaged a university and city council building in Mariupol, adding to the scores of homes, grocery stores and other critical infrastructure damaged or destroyed amid the ongoing military encirclement of the city. For nearly two weeks, the affected population has remained without safe water, electricity, and access to the most basic supplies, like food and essential medicines, that are in desperately short supply.
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Fighting in Kyivska oblast continues to flare up in new localities, while others have been under continued attack almost since the beginning of intensified hostilities over two weeks ago. In Nemishaieve – a small town of around 7,800 people – residents have reportedly been sheltering in their homes amid relentless shelling that has left the town without water, electricity and heat since 28 February. As of 9 March, the town is without gas supply as well, further exacerbating already dire conditions.
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On 9 March, the announcement of Ukraine’s state-run nuclear company Energoatom that all nuclear facilities in the Chornobyl exclusion zone were without power, possibly triggering nuclear discharge, served as an ominous reminder of the potentially catastrophic public health and environmental impacts of the ongoing conflict. Fortunately, IAEA reported that there has not been any critical impact to the safety of Chornobyl, adding that the plant’s fuel storage pool and volume of cooling water remain sufficient to effectively remove heat without electricity.
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Between 24 February and 8 March, WHO confirmed at least 24 attacks on health facilities, killing at least 12 people and injuring 17 more. Amid harsh winter temperatures, WHO says that displaced people face growing risks of hypothermia, frostbite, respiratory diseases and mental health issues, adding that the current conditions on the ground are ripe for the growth and spread of infectious diseases. Amid the ongoing military offensive, WHO has delivered around 81 tons of medical supplies to Ukraine and surrounding countries and is establishing a pipeline to ensure that much-needed relief support reaches health facilities and affected people in the hardest-hit areas.
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International humanitarian organizations continue to rapidly scale up their response activities to match the ever-growing scope and scale of needs across Ukraine. The Ukrainian Red Cross has already delivered around 400 tons of humanitarian aid to affected people, including food, hygiene kits, medicines, blankets and tents. Still, access and security constraints prevent humanitarian organizations from reaching those most affected, with local authorities, nongovernmental organizations and civil society actors better positioned to quickly and effectively respond to people in need. However, these organizations need safe and predictable windows of silence and safe passage in and out of affected communities, along with access to streamlined additional funding, to sustain and expand life-saving response activities as soon as possible.
Disclaimer
- UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
- To learn more about OCHA's activities, please visit https://www.unocha.org/.