Ukraine Humanitarian Response 2023: Situation Report, 26 May 2023 [EN/UK]

HIGHLIGHTS

• The war in Ukraine has further escalated in 2023, with hostilities ravaging communities in the east and south and taking a heavy toll on civilians living close to the front line.

• Mine contamination is also creating tremendous challenges for civilians trying, for example, to get back to their farms, and humanitarians striving to deliver assistance.

• Despite tremendous challenges, humanitarian organizations in Ukraine continue to reach more people every month. By the end of April, 5.4 million had received aid.

• This was possible thanks to the efforts of hundreds of aid organizations, local groups and volunteers who play a vital role in getting assistance for those who need it the most.

• Insecurity and access challenges continued, however, to hamper assistance in areas under Russian military control. Funding also remained low, adding to the challenges.

EMERGENCY RESPONSE

Humanitarian response

Fighting and hostilities in Ukraine have further escalated in the first four months of the year, ravaging communities in the east and south of the country and taking a heavy toll on civilians who live close to the front line. Although strikes on energy infrastructure that had driven urgent humanitarian needs during the winter months decreased, homes, schools, water systems and hospitals continued to be damaged, and civilians killed and injured daily. The war continued to also have a heavy impact on people who cannot go back to their homes – over 5.4 million people are internally displaced – and those all across the country living under almost daily air sirens and threats of attacks. In total, nearly 18 million people in Ukraine need humanitarian assistance and protection.

Mine contamination is also creating tremendous challenges, not only for civilians trying, for example, to get back to their farms but also for humanitarians striving to deliver assistance. Ukraine is one of the most mine-contaminated countries in the world, a situation that worsened since the escalation of the war in February 2024. Ukrainian authorities calculate that nearly 30 per cent of the country’s territory is contaminated with explosive ordnances, with the number of accidents in 2023 steadily increasing each month, according to the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission. This is particularly concerning in the Kharkiv, Mykolaiv and Kherson regions, where people depend on agriculture and dozens of mine-related accidents are reported every month.

Despite tremendous challenges, humanitarian organizations in Ukraine continue to reach more people with assistance every month. By the end of April, approximately 5.4 million people had received humanitarian assistance and protection services from aid organizations across Ukraine in 2023 – more than 60 per cent of whom are women and girls. This is around 800,000 people, more than the total assisted by the end of March. More than 2.1 million people received multipurpose cash assistance, close to 3.5 million received food, nearly 3 million had access to health services and medicines, around 1 million could access clean water and hygiene products and also approximately 1 million received emergency shelter or critical household items after their homes were damaged or destroyed. Education services were provided to nearly 700,000 people - mostly children - and protection services to around 600,000, including people who received services to prevent gender-based violence or support survivors.

This was possible thanks to the efforts of hundreds of humanitarian organizations and the UN’s and NGOs’ close work with local groups and community-based volunteers who play a vital role in getting assistance to those who need it the most. In the first four months of the year, over 330 humanitarian partners carried out their life-saving activities in all 24 Ukrainian oblasts and the capital Kyiv. Almost 200 of them are Ukrainian national and local NGOs.

Insecurity and access challenges continued, however, to hamper assistance in areas under the military control of the Russian Federation, despite extensive efforts and ongoing engagements to enable humanitarian operations in all parts of the Ukrainian territory. In 2023 alone, because of the deterioration of the security situation and shifts in the front line, humanitarian partners have lost access to almost 60,000 people in almost 40 towns and villages in the east of the country. Humanitarians are, however, striving to keep some support to people in desperate need in areas under Russian control, although the response is not at scale. By the end of April, aid organizations had reached, for example, around 60,000 people with cash assistance in this part of the country, disbursing in the first months of 2023 nearly US$780,000 to people impacted by the war.

Funding, which had been remarkable in 2022, remained low, adding to the challenges. To date, humanitarians have received only 24 per cent of the $3.9 billion requested for the response this year. With escalating hostilities, international support will be critical to ensure that humanitarians in Ukraine can help people whose lives have been upended by this war.