Weekly Update #131
September 2, 2024

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REFUGEES FROM UKRAINE ACROSS EUROPE

(as of 20 August 2024)

Source: UNHCR

Humanitarian Impact of Intensified Hostilities in Donetska and Sumska Oblasts - Flash Update 6 (31 August 2024)

HUMANITARIAN SITUATION

As attacks resulted in civilian casualties across the country in recent days, in Donetska, east, and Sumska, north-east, oblasts, evacuations from front-line and border communities continue.

According to local authorities, 3,400 people, including 350 children, were evacuated from front-line areas in Donetska Oblast between 7 and 29 August. Basic services which remain still functional in the town of Pokrovsk are shrinking, which impacts access to basic needs of the civilian population, particularly older people, people with disabilities and families with children. An estimated 38,000 residents remain in the town of Pokrovsk, and local authorities called for mandatory evacuations of the civilian population as the security situation around the town is worsening every day. Banks reported closing down operations there at the end of August, with only ATMs remaining operational. The forced evacuation of families with children continues in Pokrovsk and the other 23 towns and villages of Donetska Oblast. On 26 August, the forced evacuation of children and their caretakers was announced in an additional 27 towns and villages in Kostiantynivska and Selydivska hromadas.

The deteriorating security situation in Illinivska Hromada and the increasing humanitarian needs of over 5,300 peopl  remaining there spurred an increase in evacuations, including a mandatory evacuation for families with children. Residents mostly evacuate by their own means, relocating within Donetska Oblast or to safer regions of Ukraine, including Dnipro City. Almost half of the 25 towns and villages of the hromada are in proximity to the front line, which limits humanitarian access.

Further north-east, in Sumska Oblast, between 26-28 August, 114 people were evacuated through two transit centres in Sumy City. At the same time, the number of evacuations from the border areas has increased. The relocation of health facilities exacerbated the already increasing need for health services in both Donetska and Sumska oblasts.

The deteriorating security situation in Donetsk Oblast is impacting humanitarian access and complicating the operational environment for aid workers. For example, the road connecting Pokrovsk and Kostiantynivka has been off-limits for two months due to the advancing front line, and deliveries to many communities, including through inter- agency convoys, have been affected due to the loss of humanitarian access. Additionally, warehousing capacity is severely limited due to extensive damage.

HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE

Aid organizations continued to support people evacuated from front-line hromadas of Donetska and Sumska oblasts, including immediate assistance at transit centres, accommodation, transportation and relocation to safer parts of the country. More than 5,000 internally displaced people from Donetska Oblast are hosted in Mezhova Town, Dnipropetrovska Oblast, central Ukraine, which has its own population of 14,000, including more than 215 people  registered and temporarily accommodated at the Mezhova Transit Centre between 9-29 August, including 90 in the last week.

On 30 August, the Pavlohrad Transit Centre was opened to replace the Mezhova Transit Centre, scheduled for closure on 31 August. In Sumska Oblast, an average of 40 people a day are registered in one of the two transit centres in Sumy City. Some 90 people were accommodated in collective sites in the oblast.

Humanitarians also continued to deliver assistance where possible to residents remaining in front-line and border hromadas, both through individual partners and inter-agency convoys. On 29 August, an inter-agency humanitarian convoy delivered 17 tons of humanitarian supplies, including medical kits and hygiene supplies, to support 1,000residents in Illinivska Hromada in Donetska Oblast.

Cluster Response

In Donetska Oblast, Health Cluster partners pre-positioned medical stocks in Kurakhove and Kostyantynivka towns’ health facilities. Two other partners started needs assessments for minor structural rehabilitation of health facilities in Kramatorsk. As of 29 August, more than 250 people, including 50 children, received mental health and psychosocial support services and medical support in Donetska Oblast. In Sumska Oblast, another cluster partner provided consumable supplies and surgical instruments to three health facilities that had requested support reaching 4,000patients.

Shelter and Non-Food Items Cluster partners responded to strikes in Kramatorskyi Raion of Donetska Oblast by providing emergency repair materials and household supplies to 38,000 remaining residents in Pokrovsk. In preparation for winter, partners collaborated with local authorities in Kramatorsk to repair heavily damaged multi-storey residential buildings, focusing on securing the thermal envelope of private apartments. In Sumska Oblast, on 27 and 28 August, cluster partners continued to deliver supplies to transit centres and emergency supplies to border hromadas.

Protection Cluster partners provided psychological support and case management at the evacuation point in Pokrovsk, Donetska Oblast. Following a recent evacuation transit centre closure in Pokrovsk after the attack hit it, only one evacuation point remains in the town, from where people transfer to transit sites in Dnipropetrovska Oblast. Cluster partners also supported the provision of mental health and psychosocial support and activities for children at MezhovaTransit Centre in Dnipropetrovska Oblast receiving evacuees from the Donetska Oblast. Evacuees hosted at collective sites are supported with psychosocial assistance and legal aid, case management and social accompaniment services.  More than 100 people received legal aid addressing internal displacement registration, financial assistance, housing allowances, and document restoration. Accommodating people with special needs, particularly older people or peoplewith disabilities, remains a challenge.

Hot meals are provided daily at transit centres in Sumska Oblast, Food Security and Livelihoods Cluster partners also delivered assistance to collective sites where displaced people had been accommodated. A pool of organizations has been established to provide direct assistance at transit points, with others on standby or assisting at the internal collective sites. Hot meals are being provided to evacuees from Pokrovsk and Kramatorsk, Donetska Oblast. The challenge of informing Donetsk Oblast residents through SMS notifications and leaflet distribution remains in place.

Camp Coordination and Camp Management (CCCM) Cluster partners are providing comprehensive assistance to collective sites, including essential items and refurbishment works in Sumska Oblast. CCCM Cluster partners have maintained a daily presence at Mezhova Transit Centre, providing technical support to site management and facilitating referrals to ensure an effective multisectoral response for people evacuated from Donetska Oblast. The Cluster, in collaboration with local authorities from Donetska and Dnipropetrovska Oblasts, started the relocation of the evacuated population from Mezhova Transit Centre, coordinating with other clusters on the needs and assistance delivery.

Humanitarian Response in Central and Western Oblasts

In the past two weeks, evacuation trains have been organized from Donetska oblast to Cherkaska, Rivnenska, and Zakarpatska oblasts. On 27 August, 124 internally displaced people arrived in Cherkaska Oblast, with at least 111people, including 11 children and 3 people with disabilities, accommodated in 3 collective sites in 3 hromadas. CCCM Cluster partners conducted needs assessments and are now working on addressing the needs of evacuees.

On 23 August, a thirteenth evacuation train brought 260 people, including 45 children and 3 people with disabilities, to Rivne – the largest single evacuation train since the beginning of August. The evacuees were settled in 7 hromadas inRivnenskyi Raion, with up to 200 people being accommodated in collective sites of the oblast. CCCM Cluster partners provided 190 beds and mattresses for two collective sites in Klevan, supported oblast authorities with referrals for household supplies, and coordinated the provision of mental health and psychosocial support to people.

At least 133 people arrived in Zakarpatska Oblast over the past two weeks. All evacuees are settled in collective sites within Mukachivskyi, Rakhivskyi and Tiachivskyi raions, where they received coordinated assistance through the CCCM Cluster.

The Food Security and Livelihoods Cluster is providing hot meals to evacuees from Pokrovsk and Kramatorsk at major stations like Dnipro City and Bila Tserkva in Kyivska Oblast.

Source: OCHA

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Strengthening Ukraine’s Primary and Secondary Education through World Bank Support

The Lifting Education Access and Resilience in Times of Need (LEARN) program will improve overall safety conditions in schools, provide free transportation for vulnerable students, train teachers, purchase textbooks, and strengthen education sector management. The LEARN program will build Ukraine’s human capital by improving safety and inclusive access to schools and adopting comprehensive education reforms in grades 1-12, known as the New Ukrainian School (NUS), that are aligned with EU standards. 

“It is critical to mitigate the impact of the war on children, especially the most vulnerable by minimizing disruptions to their learning,” said Bob Saum, World Bank Country Director for Eastern Europe. “This project will support Ukraine’s education system as part of its to recovery. We applaud the government’s resolve to continue with the New Ukrainian School reform and think ahead to the future, despite the last three years of war.”

This initial financing for the LEARN program includes $235 million from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) Advancing Needed Credit Enhancement for Ukraine (ADVANCE Ukraine), $150 million from the International Development Association (IDA) Special Program for Ukraine and Moldova Recovery, and $30 million from the Ukraine Relief, Recovery, Reconstruction and Reform Trust Fund (URTF). The program is results-based financing that can be scaled-up as additional funds become available. 

The program is an integral part of the international support package for Ukraine to meet its financing needs through 2024. Other ongoing projects include emergency operations for health, transport, energy, housing, and agriculture that have mobilized partner resources through a flexible design to disburse funds quickly and can be scaled as necessary when additional financing becomes available.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, World Bank Group-mobilized support has enabled the Government of Ukraine to promote reforms, and provide essential services that are reaching more than 15 million Ukrainians.  The World Bank Group has facilitated more than $47 billion in financing to support Ukraine, including commitments and pledges from donors including: the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, Norway, the Netherlands, Spain, Germany, Canada, Republic of Korea, Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, Austria, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Indonesia, Lithuania, Latvia, New Zealand, and Belgium. 

Source: World Bank

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Cost of Living Assessment: Adaptation Strategies & Social Interventions in the Communities - August 2024 

Context & Rationale

The full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022, has been accompanied by a sharp and prolonged increase in prices of essential items nationwide, driven by location-specific supply chain difficulties and other conflict-related issues. The challenging socio-economic context, characterised by a rise in unemployment and a considerable shrinkage of economic activity, led many households to adopt negative Livelihood Coping Strategies (LCS), amidst increasing reports by consumers that the unaffordability of essential items constitutes their main barrier to accessing markets. Moreover, households began to depend on new and sometimes unstable sources of income. In 2024 formal employment was reported as a source of income by only 50% of households, whereas reliance on Multi-Purpose Cash Assistance (MPCA) and social protection transfers increased. This dynamic put additional pressure on locally-led service delivery and social services provision, which, since the 2016 reforms, has gradually become the responsibility of hromadas, also weakened by the shocks of conflict and mass displacement.

This assessment explores hromada-level variance in household LCS and in MPCA and social protection systems coverage, to inform interventions geared towards strengthening long-term sustainability of socio-economic recovery, addressing the challenges facing households and their local governments.

Key Findings

• In each hromada, the main sector of economic activity was heavily disrupted, due to the conflict and displacement, aggravating unemployment.

• The rise in prices of essential items was identified as the main factor driving the adoption of Livelihood Coping Strategies. Households reportedly purchased lower quantity and quality items (including food) and avoided health expenses.

• Due to the similarity in targeting of social protection and MPCA, the non-displaced, unemployed, families with 1 or 2 children, and people between 50 years old and pension age are excluded from most income-support measures, notwithstanding their increasing needs.

• Local authorities reported that longer working hours, increasing security risks and stagnating wages hinder recruitment of skilled personnel and their early recovery initiatives.

• While available support (such as the IDP allowance and in-kind aid) is expected to decrease, authorities anticipate a further increase in demand for social assistance, amidst a worsening security situation and stagnating employment rates.

Source: REACH

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ASSISTANT SECRETARY-GENERAL MIROSLAV JENČA’S REMARKS TO THE SECURITY COUNCIL ON UKRAINE

Mr. President, 

On Saturday, 24 August, Ukraine marked its 33rd Independence Day.

The day also marked a somber milestone of two and a half years of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine – launched in blatant violation of the UN Charter and international law.

On this occasion, we reiterate the United Nations’ full commitment to the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine, within its internationally recognized borders.

Over the past 30 months, millions of Ukrainians have witnessed unimaginable death, devastation, and destruction.

According to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, since 24 February 2022, 11,662 civilians have been killed - 639 of them children. 24,207 civilians have been injured - 1,577 of them children.

This July was the deadliest month for civilians in Ukraine in almost two years: at least 219 civilians were killed and 1,018 injured.

Tragically, these figures only grow, as missiles, shells and drones continue to hit cities, towns and villages across Ukraine daily.

In the past two days, hundreds of missiles and drones reportedly killed at least eleven people and hit energy and other critical civilian infrastructure across Ukraine. Damage was reported in 15 regions, with at least 11 energy facilities affected.

This vast destruction further aggravates the already precarious access to energy and water for millions of people.

Days earlier, on 24 August, amidst escalating fighting in eastern Ukraine, a missile struck a hotel in the town of Kramatorsk, Donetsk region of Ukraine. A Reuters staff member was killed and four journalists injured. Similar attacks on hotels, restaurants, markets and shopping areas in frontline communities have been reported.

We are also concerned about the impact of the spread of fighting on the civilian population on both sides of the Ukraine-Russia border, including in the Sumy and Kharkiv regions of Ukraine, as well as in the Kursk, Belgorod and Bryansk regions of the Russian Federation.

Following the start of Ukraine’s incursion into the Kursk region on 6 August, local Russian officials reported at least 12 people killed and 121 others injured. According to local officials, at least 130,000 people have been evacuated from the region. OHCHR has not received additional reports of civilian casualties or related harm and is not able to confirm these reports as it has no access to the Russian Federation and the areas impacted by the fighting.

As the Secretary-General repeatedly underlined, attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure are unacceptable, no matter where they occur. These attacks are prohibited by international humanitarian law. They must end immediately.

We urge all sides to act responsibly and ensure the protection of civilians.

Mr. President,

We are alarmed regarding reported incidents around nuclear facilities in Ukraine and Russia.

In August, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported deterioration of the nuclear safety situation at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.

On 17 August, a drone strike hit the road around the site perimeter. On 11 August, significant fire at one of the cooling towers resulted in considerable damage.

The IAEA team has also reported periodic intense military activity near the plant, including sounds of frequent explosions, repetitive heavy machine gun and rifle fire and artillery at various distances from the plant.

Concerns are also rising over nuclear safety and security in the Kursk region of the Russian Federation. On 22 August, the Russian Federation informed the International Atomic Energy Agency that remains of a drone were found within the territory of the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant.

We welcome yesterday’s visit to the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant by IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi and his personal efforts to ensure nuclear safety and security in Russia and Ukraine.

We also commend IAEA’s ongoing monitoring of the situation at all of Ukraine’s nuclear sites, including Europe’s largest plant in Zaporizhzhia.

We continue to call for maximum restraint and vigilance to avoid a nuclear incident, the consequences of which could be catastrophic to the region and the world.

Mr. President,

After a decade of conflict in the east of Ukraine and occupation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, and following two and a half years of full-scale war, the suffering of the people in Ukraine continues unabated.

Women in Ukraine are facing particular risks. They make up 56 per cent of the 15 million people in need of humanitarian assistance. We are concerned about the reported 40 per cent increase in cases of gender-based violence.

In front-line areas, particularly in the east and south of Ukraine, entire villages and towns have been either partially or completely devastated. According to OHCHR, 546 medical facilities and 1,306 educational facilities have been damaged or destroyed.

As we have previously briefed, humanitarian operations in some areas lack access to people in need.

We remain deeply concerned about the 1.5 million people who we are unable to reach in parts of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine occupied by the Russian Federation.

Like all others living close to the front line in Ukraine, they require urgent access to health care and medicine, food and clean drinking water.

In accordance with international humanitarian law, it is imperative that impartial humanitarian relief be facilitated for all civilians in need.

The hostilities have displaced millions of Ukrainian people who continue to need our support. Nearly 3.7 million people have been internally displaced within Ukraine. More than 6.6 million Ukrainian refugees have been recorded globally.

This year, together with our partners, the United Nations aims to reach 8.5 million people with life-saving assistance, including through its Winter Response Plan. So far, donors have provided 41 per cent of the $3.1 billion required under the Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan. We thank them for their generous contributions.

However, the already dire humanitarian situation is expected to worsen as hostilities show no signs of abating, and the winter approaches.

Mr. President,

We welcome the recent exchanges of Prisoners of war facilitated by the United Arab Emirates and other actors. We encourage the sides to step up these efforts to bring all Prisoners of war home.

However, we express serious concern about the treatment of Prisoners of war held by the Russian Federation. The United Nationals Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine has reported that Prisoners of war were subjected to prolonged and routine torture, dire conditions of internment and repeated sexual violence.

Prisoners of war must be treated in accordance with International Humanitarian Law.

Mr. President,

We cannot allow the horrific devastation of this war to become normalized.

Now, more than ever, it is critical for us to speak with one voice to ensure protection of civilians and to step up our urgent efforts towards peace.

Next month, the world leaders will gather for the Summit of the Future to forge a new international consensus on how we deliver a better present, and safeguard the future.

We hope that this Summit will help enhance global collaboration at a time when it is most urgently needed.

And we hope that these efforts will also bring us closer to laying the foundations for a just, lasting and comprehensive peace in Ukraine, in line with the UN Charter, international law, and resolutions of the General Assembly.

The United Nations remains ready to support any meaningful efforts to this end.

Source: Political and Peacebuilding Affairs

Ukraine prepares for winter power cuts after Russian attacks on energy sector

Kyiv is calling for more air defence support as repairs resume after latest strikes, with fears more could be catastrophic.

Ukrainian authorities are scrambling to assess the damage caused by one of the biggest Russian airstrikes of the war earlier this week, which targeted energy infrastructure across the country, further crippling a sector targeted by Moscow multiple times in the spring.

While much of Ukraine is still experiencing the tail end of a very hot summer, this week’s strikes have brought into focus concerns about the hard colder months that lie ahead. “This winter is going to be tough, that’s for sure,” said Nataliia Shapoval, head of the Kyiv School of Economics Institute.

Monday’s attack, which came during morning rush hour, involved more than 100 missiles and more than 100 drones targeting energy infrastructure all across the country, from the east close to the frontlines all the way to the far west near the border with EU countries.

While the strikes in spring targeted generating capacity, Monday’s attacks were largely focused on distribution infrastructure, such as electricity substations. They led to emergency blackouts across the country, which have tapered into scheduled power cuts affecting Kyiv and many other cities.

Many estimates suggest that even before this week’s strikes, Russia had destroyed around half of Ukraine’s energy capacity. Repair work has been ongoing over the summer, but as Kyiv continues to call for increased air defence support from western allies, the fear is that further strikes could turn a difficult situation into a catastrophic one.

At a June conference in Berlin, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russia had destroyed 80% of Ukraine’s thermal energy generation and a third of its hydro generation. On Tuesday, he declined to elaborate on what further damage Monday’s strikes had caused.

Shapoval’s institute estimates that since the start of the full-scale invasion, Russian strikes on energy infrastructure have caused $16bn of damage as well as $40bn of lost revenues.

The country is undoubtedly better prepared for the winter now than at the beginning of the war. Hospitals, critical infrastructure and many businesses have generator capacity. In Kyiv, life went on almost normally during the long power cuts this week, with small generators whirring outside cafes, restaurants and other businesses.

But the frequent electricity cuts expected over the winter will probably cause a range of knock-on effects, ranging from affecting elderly people and those with mobility issues who live in high-rise buildings, who will be unable to use elevators if the building has not bought a generator, to reduced functioning of businesses and, as a result, reduced taxes flowing into the budget. Sustained power outages could prove disastrous for heavy industry in the east of the country, which has so far proved remarkably resilient despite more than two years of full-scale war.

There were “lots of small and big stories” that come about as a result of power outages, said Shapoval. In much of the east, where the threat of strikes means schooling takes place online, lack of electricity makes it harder to power devices and have access to internet for lessons. In some high-rise buildings, blackouts means water cannot be pumped to the higher floors, and the “doomsday scenario” was that Russian strikes would also lead to major shortages of water as well as electricity, Shapoval said.

In June, the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said Brussels planned to finance the development of small-scale generators across the country. “The aim is to help decentralise the power system and thus increase resilience,” she said.

The rules have been liberalised on electricity generation using gas turbines, leading to an increase in small-scale generation, which can be carried out anywhere with access to gas supplies and power cables, with the systems constructed inside shipping containers or small buildings. “Some companies are doing it to cover their own needs, some to connect to the grid and then sell it to the market,” said Prokip.

The renewed focus on energy comes after Ukraine’s surprise incursion into Russia’s Kursk region earlier this month, with Kyiv now controlling a chunk of Russian territory and changing the dynamic on the battlefield, even as Ukraine’s forces remain on the back foot in the eastern Donbas region.

The goals of the operation, which Ukraine has said it did not reveal to allies in advance, are still not clear. On Wednesday, the CIA’s deputy director, David Cohen, said he expected Ukraine to try to hold the territory “for some period of time”. Kyiv has said it controls about 1,200sq km of territory and that it wants to create a “buffer zone” in the border area to prevent Russian attacks on Ukrainian territory.

Source: The Guardian

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A Matter of Trust: Community-Police Relations in Ukraine’s De-Occupied and Frontline Areas

This policy brief outlines the main obstacles to greater trust between Ukraine’s population and its law enforcement agencies in the de-occupied and frontline areas and proposes ways in which international actors to support better police-community relations in Ukraine.

In a setting where shelling, mines and other war-related security challenges are posing dangers to law enforcement agents and civilians alike, enabling the presence and functioning of law enforcement actors is in of itself the best way to increase communities’ trust in them.

In the face of Russian military occupation, police officers are often among the last civilian representatives of the Ukrainian state in frontline areas – and among the first to return where the Russian occupiers have been ousted. Law enforcement actors play a key role in providing everyday security and justice for local populations in Ukraine’s de-occupied and frontline areas; however, individual police officers often face war-induced and structural challenges that render their operations dangerous and sometimes impossible.

At the same time, their presence alone does not guarantee trustful relations with the communities they are meant to serve. Instead, security concerns, a lack of communication, as well as structural problems complicate their interaction. In addition, trust in Ukraine’s law enforcement agencies is historically very low. It will be crucial to mitigate friction between communities and police since a lack of trust in law enforcement can further alienate and endanger Ukrainian civilians who are already living in very challenging environments.

To support trustful community-police relations in areas highly affected by the war, international donors should coordinate their activities and base them on localized and regularly updated needs assessments to do no harm. It is also advisable that they pursue a scalable approach which can be adapted as local security situations sometimes deteriorate quickly.

Specifically, Ukraine’s international supporters can:

• Enable a functioning police presence even in the most difficult settings by providing star links, power banks, cars, and evacuation vehicles – taking into account that some of this infrastructure will almost certainly be destroyed by Russian shelling;

• Invest in the creation safe spaces – located for instance in a public place or shelter – which can serve as one-stop shops for essential services and medical attention and enable positive interactions with law enforcement agencies, to take some pressure off civilians;

• Support Ukraine’s law enforcement agencies as they take up new tasks under martial law, specifically in improving their communication about police activities as well as about citizen rights;

• Support law enforcement agencies in developing adequate psychosocial support structures in the face of a long war – but only if there is a proper understanding of the local context and needs;

• Use dialogue approaches in areas that are close to the frontline only if they have a clearly stated goal (e.g., community development, landmine awareness, etc.). Dialogue for dialogue’s sake risks undermining trust rather than serving to strengthen it. Instead, donors should conduct assessments to understand the needs of the population and determine to what extent they are met by local law enforcement.

The full brief is available for download (in English).

Source: GPPi

EU divergent views on use of weapons

European Union (EU) member state officials continue to express divergent views about Ukraine's ability to use European-provided weapons to strike military targets in Russia. EU High Commissioner Josep Borrell stated on August 30 that the decision to lift such restrictions is up to each EU member state individually, as not all EU states have provided Ukraine with long-range weapons.

Czech President Petr Pavel stated on August 30 that Ukraine should decide how to use its Western-provided weapons in accordance with the United Nations (UN) Charter. Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur urged Western partners to lift restrictions on Ukraine’s ability to use Western-provided weapons to strike military targets in Russia. 

 Polish Deputy Defense Minister Pawel Zalewski stated on August 30 that Poland supports lifting restrictions on Ukraine's ability to conduct long-range strikes against military targets in Russia using Polish-provided weapons. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani stated on August 29 that Italy will not allow Ukraine to use Italian-provided weapons for strikes against military targets on Russian territory as neither NATO nor Italy are at war with Russia. (Italy has reportedly supplied Ukraine with Storm Shadow missiles).

The United Kingdom reportedly seeks to allow Ukrainian forces to use UK-provided Storm Shadows for strikes into Russia, but US prohibitions are preventing the United Kingdom from unilaterally doing so.   Italy's refusal to allow Ukraine to use Italian-provided Storm Shadows for such strikes suggests that Ukrainian forces may have to abide by different rules for the use of the same missile type depending on the country of origin.

ISW has previously assessed that Western allies' divergent policies on weapons use complicate logistics for Ukrainian forces, who must carefully navigate the origins and guidelines of the weapons to abide by specific regulations.

Source: ISW

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UNHCR partners with the Olena Zelenska Foundation to support internally displaced children and large foster families in Ukraine

On August 28, Karolina Lindholm Billing, UNHCR Representative in Ukraine, met with Olena Zelenska, the First Lady of Ukraine, to solidify a new partnership aimed at providing crucial humanitarian support to displaced children and larger foster families across Ukraine. 

During the meeting, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and the Olena Zelenska Foundation, underscoring their commitment to work together in providing essential aid and improving access to social and protection services, including legal assistance and psychosocial support to those in need.  

Through this cooperation, UNHCR will provide essential household appliances to be distributed to internally displaced large foster families who have been significantly impacted by the ongoing war.  

By providing necessary household appliances, UNHCR, through its collaboration with the Olena Zelenska Foundation, will help these foster families improve the well-being and comfort of displaced children who have already endured so much hardship. These include families who lost their homes as a result of the full-scale invasion and were forced to build their lives from scratch in a new place. 

Another important area of cooperation includes the promotion of access to mental health and psychosocial support services for internally displaced people, returnees, and other war-affected individuals. This is aimed at addressing trauma and facilitating psychological recovery in line with the National Program of Mental Health and Psychosocial Support initiated by the First Lady.

Since the beginning of the Russian full-scale invasion in 2022, UNHCR has scaled up its programmes and efforts to provide critical protection, social assistance and psychosocial services across Ukraine. We have reached millions of people (4.3 million in 2022; 2.63 million in 2023; and close to 1 million so far in 2024).  

The assistance includes community-based mental health and psychosocial support to nearly 95,000 people as well as provision of child protection, recreational and psychosocial support activities for 72,000 war-affected and displaced children, organized by UNHCR and our local NGO partners.

Source: UNHCR

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Calls within Nato to clear long-range strikes against Russia

Several Nato countries called for lifting restrictions on Ukraine’s use of weapons supplied by western allies, especially long-range missiles, a diplomatic source told Agence France-Presse as the Nato-Ukraine council met in Brussels on Wednesday. In an official statement from the meeting, Nato countries condemned this week’s “indiscriminate” heavy Russian strikes across Ukraine. The Nato chief, Jens Stoltenberg, said members reaffirmed their commitment to “stepping up their military aid to Ukraine … We must continue to provide Ukraine with the equipment and munitions it needs to defend itself against Russia’s invasion. This is vital for Ukraine’s ability to stay in the fight.”

Poland’s foreign minister, Radosław Sikorski, said that while Russia was using long-range weapons against Ukraine, allies should “let Ukraine fight with whatever it has, with whatever we have delivered them and let’s deliver them more”. Sikorski again proposed directly seizing Russia’s $320bn of assets held in the west, rather than just lending against the proceeds. “Let us confiscate the assets from the aggressor and give it to the victim of aggression.”

Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said in a broadcast conversation with Sikorski that the biggest problem faced by Kyiv was its allies’ fear of escalation. “The war is always about a lot of hardware – money, weapons, resources – but the real problems are always here, in the heads … Most of our partners are afraid of discussing the future of Russia … This is something that is very upsetting because if we do not speak about the future of the source of threat, then we cannot build strategy,” he said.

Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Wednesday: “We continue to insist that decisiveness now, removing restrictions on Ukraine for long-range strikes now, will help us end the war as quickly as possible in a just manner for Ukraine and the entire world.” Ukraine’s president said a Russian glide bomb strike on the eastern town of Kupyansk had resulted in deaths. “There was a strike – right in the city centre, people were under the rubble. Unfortunately, there are fatalities.” The strike injured 14 people and damaged the city hall, the regional prosecutor’s office said.

Two days after a Russian missile strike on a hotel in Kryvyi Rih killed four people and injured five, another Russian attack hit the central Ukraine city during official mourning, injuring nine civilians and destroying 230 cars, said the Dnipropetrovsk oblast regional governor, Serhii Lysak. “When Kryvyi Rih is in mourning, the enemy attacks again,” Lysak said. “And once again he aims at civilians.”

On Thursday morning, Ukrainian air defence shot down more than 10 Russian drones during the third attack in four days on Kyiv, said Serhiy Popko, head of the Ukrainian capital’s military administration. The Kyiv mayor, Vitaliy Klitschko, said an apartment and a children’s playground were among the places damaged. Russian drone and missile launches against other parts of Ukraine including Kharkiv were reported, while Russian authorities in illegally occupied Sevastopol reported an attack by Ukrainian drones.

Russia is evacuating villages in Belgorod near the Ukrainian border, Vyacheslav Gladkov, governor of the oblast, has announced. “Due to the tense operational situation, a decision was made to resettle residents of the villages of Poroz and Dronovka in the Grayvoronsky district, the village of Stary Khutor and the khutor of Pavlovka in the Valuysky urban district. The entrance to the village of Vyazovoye in the Krasnoyarsk district was closed.” Ukrainian forces invaded Russia’s Kursk region on 6 August and Gladkov has said Belgorod is also under threat.

Zelenskiy said the situation was “extremely difficult” around Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region. “The key Russian efforts and the largest forces are concentrated there.” Ukraine’s general staff said there was “fierce fighting” in a number of villages close to the city. Russia’s defence ministry announced on Wednesday that Russian forces had taken another settlement 20km (12 miles) from Pokrovsk where Ukrainian authorities have ordered mandatory evacuations.

Russian bombardments in the Donetsk region killed six people on Wednesday, the governor said. “In the morning the Russians killed four people and destroyed a house in Izmailivka,” said Vadym Filashkin, adding that two more people were killed in separate attacks near Chasiv Yar that damaged more than a dozen homes. Filashkin said about 30,000 people remained in Pokrovsk and surrounding villages as evacuations continued, and that banks would shutter in the town by Sunday. Pokrovsk was once home to about 60,000 people.

Ukrainian military intelligence claimed responsibility for a confirmed attack that left an oil depot burning in Russia’s Rostov region, saying the facility “is directly involved in the supply of the Russian occupation forces”. In the first known Ukrainian attack on Russia’s Kirov region, three Ukrainian drones hit an oil depot, setting it on fire. The region is about 950km (600 miles) north-east of the Ukrainian border. Ukraine said its anti-aircraft defences destroyed a Russian Su-25 jet in the Donetsk region.

The European Union’s top diplomat on Thursday ramped up pressure on Ukraine’s international backers to lift restrictions on the use of weapons they provide to the conflict-ravaged country to allow its armed forces to strike targets inside Russia.

The U.S. restricts the use of long-range ballistic missiles it provides to Ukraine and some EU members also limit the use of their weapons. Ukraine is desperate to target airfields and other military installations inside Russia that are used to stage attacks on its armed forces and civilians.

Speaking alongside Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, Borrell condemned Russia’s attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure.

Kuleba insisted that Ukraine only wants to attack “legitimate military targets” inside Russia. He also urged the West to make good on promises to quickly send military support to Ukraine.

Source: AP News