Ukraine: Situation Report, 19 Dec 2022 [EN/RU/UK]

HIGHLIGHTS

• Aid worker killed during an attack that hit an aid distribution point in Kherson on 15 December.
• Waves of attacks on energy infrastructure continued across Ukraine, leaving millions of people without electricity, disrupting water supply and heating systems.
• Hostilities in the east and south continued unabated, affecting civilians, including aid workers, in Khersonska and Donetska oblasts.
• Incidents of reported mine accidents are increasing in Kharkivska, Khersonska and Mykolaivska oblasts.
• Humanitarians have reached 5 million people with cash assistance worth US$1 billion.

ANALYSIS

Humanitarian situation overview

Regular waves of attacks on energy infrastructure continue to cause destruction and leave millions of people across Ukraine with no electricity, disrupting water supply and heating systems, while temperatures have fallen below zero in most parts of the country. The attacks have also damaged other civilian infrastructure, including homes, as well as killed and injured civilians across Ukraine over the past couple of weeks.

The most recent attack in the early hours of 19 December, reportedly hit infrastructure in at least 6 of Ukrainian’s 24 oblasts – mainly in the centre and south of the country, injuring at least two civilians, and damaging several buildings in Kyivska oblast, according to the authorities. The authorities have implemented emergency power outages in 10 oblasts and in Kyiv. Earlier on 16 December, as another series of attacks swept over Ukraine, a baby and the mother were killed as a building was hit in Krivyi Rih, central Dnipropetrovska oblast. The strikes also damaged homes and other civilian infrastructure in several parts of the country, including during three reported explosions in Kyiv. Large-scale disruptions of water, power, heating, railway connections and mobile communications were reported all over the country. On 5 December, attacks resulted in power outages in 40 per cent of the capital Kyiv and disconnected the Internet due to the lack of power. Water in Odesa was cut as the main water pipe station was without power; damages also led to a full blackout across the city. Other parts of the country were also affected.

Hostilities and heavy fighting in the country’s east and south continued to impact civilians and humanitarian workers in Khersonska oblast and on both sides of the front line in Donetska oblast. In Kherson, attacks have intensified over the past two weeks, and on 15 December, an aid distribution centre was hit, killing at least two people, including a humanitarian worker in the line of duty. Across the oblast, damages to schools, sports and community centres, medical facilities, residential buildings and energy systems have been reported. Attacks on humanitarian aid distribution points have also been reported in all Khersonska oblast rayons, according to humanitarian security reports. While the authorities have restored parts of the energy infrastructure in the city, continued attacks slow down the process and leave thousands without power, heating and water. The humanitarian situation for almost 183,000 people in Kherson and other parts recently retaken by Ukraine remains critical. Many houses require urgent repairs, which is especially dangerous as winter temperatures are keeping low. People need food, warm clothes, basic household and personal items, beds, mattresses and heating solutions. Access to safe water and hygiene is limited, which leads to an elevated risk of associated diseases.

In Donetsk, in the areas under the temporary military control of the Russian Federation, the offices of two humanitarian NGOs were damaged during attacks on 5 and 6 December. The attacks not only caused damages to the premises, normally used for aid distribution but also vehicles belonging to the organizations. There were no casualties inside the buildings, civilians nearby were reportedly injured. Attacks are also regularly reported in Luhanska oblast, signifying the intensification of hostilities along the front line, as well as in Kharkivska and Zaporizka oblasts, with civilian casualties and damaged infrastructure reported.

Mines and other explosive ordnance risks

Incidents involving mine accidents are increasingly being reported across the areas of Kharkivska, Khersonska and Mykolaivska oblasts. At least 15 incidents were reported in Khersonska and Mykolaivska oblasts since the middle of November, killing 8 people and injuring another 16. Almost all of the areas retaken by Ukraine in Khersonska oblast are considered at extremely high risk of contamination by explosives, according to oblast authorities. De-mining is crucial to allow agricultural activities to resume.

Displacement

According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), there are 5.9 Ukrainians internally displaced in Ukraine as of 5 December, a reduction from 6.5 million recorded at the end of October. Yet, in the past month some 680,000 people have been forced from their homes, 40 per cent of them fleeing from the east and 25 per cent from the south of the country. According to the IOM’s latest estimates, there is no evidence of a new massive wave of displacement due to low temperatures and energy crisis across most-affected oblasts as had been projected. Only 7 per cent of the people questioned during the latest General Population Survey are considering moving from their place of residence, while over 785,000 of those displaced are planning to remain and assimilate into their new communities.