Ukraine: Situation Report, 19 September 2024 [EN/UK]

HIGHLIGHTS

• Hostilities in Donetska, Kharkivska and Sumska oblasts killed and injured scores of civilians. In Kharkiv City alone, over 40 civilian casualties, including children, were reported on 15 September. In Sumy City, an attack damaged a care facility for older people on 19 September. Several repeated strikes killed and injured first responders on duty.
• Strikes on energy facilities temporarily disrupted access to electricity and water for thousands of civilians in urban centres in Donetska and Sumska oblasts.
• An estimated 16,000 people remain in Pokrovsk Town without a centralized water and gas supply.
• Humanitarians continued multi-sectoral support to evacuees and residents of the affected communities.

HUMANITARIAN SITUATION

The humanitarian situation in the front-line communities continued to deteriorate as attacks impacted residential buildings, schools, hospitals, businesses and other civilian infrastructure providing critical services. Over the past week, Donetska, Kharkivska and Sumska oblasts carried the heaviest toll from the intense hostilities across Ukraine, with dozens of civilians, including children, killed or injured. Some parts of Donetska and Kharkivska oblasts were also affected by wildfires. Electricity and water supply were disrupted for dozens of thousands of families.

Since the last report on 12 September, scores of civilians have been killed and injured, and multiple homes, several hospitals and education facilities have been damaged in Donetska, Kharkivska and Sumska oblasts, according to authorities and partners on the ground. On 15 September alone, a bomb strike in Kharkiv City destroyed part of a 12- storey residential building and damaged some 20 more. The authorities reported that one civilian was killed and over 40 were injured, including several children from 1 to 13 years old. On 19 September, an attack in Sumy City damaged a senior care facility, resulting in civilian casualties, including among older people in need of specialized assistance. In another attack on 13 September in Sumska Oblast, a child was also reported among those injured. In Kharkviska Oblast, two health facilities were damaged.

First responders were among the casualties due to the attacks. When extinguishing fires, one rescuer was killed by repeated strikes in the village of Pokrovske, Donetska Oblast, and four were injured in Kharkiv City on 17 September, according to the State Emergency Service of Ukraine.

In Donetska and Sumska oblasts, attacks damaged energy facilities, temporarily disrupting critical services. On 15 September, such an attack left the towns of Druzhkivka, Kramatorsk, Kostiantynivka and Sloviansk in Donetska Oblast without power, which was later restored. In Sumska Oblast, several attacks on 17 and 18 September led to power outages for over 280,000 consumers — families, public facilities and business entities — and also disrupted the water supply in Sumy City and Konotopskyi, Okhtyrskyi and Sumskyi raions.

Moreover, due to the relentless attacks, Pokrovsk Town in Donetska Oblast has lost the centralized water and gas supply, and there is no electricity in some parts of the town. According to the local authorities, as of 18 September, some 16,000 remained in Pokrovsk Town, including 177 children, and 25,000 in Pokrovska Hromada, while the humanitarian situation continued to deteriorate.

Wildfires caused by shelling and weather conditions spread in some areas of Donetska and Kharkivska oblasts, including in Lyman Town in Donetska Oblast and in Kharkiv City, where some road sections were closed for transport due to a nearby forest fire on 16 September. Wildfires also increased the number of temporarily displaced people, creating additional challenges when providing adequate shelter and other critical assistance.

Meanwhile, people continued to leave front-line communities in Donetska and Kharkivska oblasts. Most evacuations were from Donetska to Dnipropetrovska oblasts, while some might move further to the west from there. Overall, the average number of people leaving Donetsk Oblast per day dropped to about 700, according to the authorities. Most evacuees used the Kurakhove — Pokrovsk — Dnipro route, and some used the Myrhohrad — Palvohrad route.

As observed by the Protection Cluster, evacuations from front-line areas in Kharkivska Oblast accounted for almost one-fourth of the evacuations, with most people fleeing from Kupianskyi Raion to Kharkiv City. Alarmingly, on 18 September, shelling occurred close to an NGO bus transporting evacuees on this route, though no one was hurt.

As reported by the Camp Management and Camp Coordination Cluster, two more transit sites were established in Sumska Oblast in anticipation of a potential influx of evacuees from areas bordering the Russian Federation due to increased security risks. So far, no significant movement of displaced people has been reported.

The Protection Cluster partners also indicated that the main protection needs of evacuees arriving at the transit sites included psychosocial support and legal assistance related to obtaining documentation and access to assistance.