Weekly Update #138
October 21, 2024

General Figures

Refugees from Ukraine recorded across Europe 

6,191,800

Last updated October 15 2024

Covers those granted refugee status, temporary asylum status, temporary protection, or statuses through similar national protection schemes, as well as those recorded in the country under other forms of stay 

Refugees from Ukraine recorded beyond Europe

560,200

Last updated October 15 2024

Covers those granted refugee status, temporary asylum status, temporary protection, or statuses through similar national protection schemes, as well as those recorded in the country under other forms of stay 

Refugees from Ukraine recorded globally

6,752,000

Last updated October 15 2024

Estimated number of internally displaced people (IDPs) in Ukraine (as of Aug 2024)

3,669,000

Source: UNHCR collation of statistics made available by the authorities

HUMANITARIAN SITUATION UPDATE

Ukraine: Humanitarian Coordinator highlights determination to ‘survive and rebuild’

The UN’s Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine has only been in post for three months but after talking to many civilians caught up in the fighting near the frontline – and in cities living under constant threat of deadly drone strikes – he told UN News on Friday that the “determination to survive and rebuild” is palpable everywhere.

Matthias Schmale spoke to chief of the UN News Russian unit Nargiz Shekinskaya saying that one big priority for the extensive UN aid operation which is designed to help the Ukrainian Government reach 1.8 million most in need, is to keep people warm through another bitter winter, despite losing more than half of their coal-based energy production infrastructure.

Russia is continuing to try and push its forces forward as the full-scale invasion continues: “I don’t like the term, but we use it a lot and that’s the resilience of Ukraine’s citizens. It’s remarkable how people continue to cope,” he said.

He describes conversations with civilians living in fear in the southern city of Kherson, under constant shelling, where drones are clearly being directed to attack civilians and buildings far from the frontline.

“Sometimes the drones don't strike, but just follow them around, because you can hear the sound – the trauma of being followed by a drone and not knowing whether it is close.”

Mr. Schmale said he can only marvel at the ability of Ukrainians to keep going “with smiles on their faces to support their own people.”

UN News: The third winter of war is almost here. So many challenges ahead, given the energy infrastructure is under constant attacks. How does the UN help Ukrainians prepare? 

Matthias Schmale: There are about 112,000 people living on so called collective sites. Our focus is on supporting these people in collective sites. A lot of what we're doing has to do with keeping people warm. So, there is assistance in the form of heating appliances, in the form of fuel, wood, coal, gas.

We planned earlier than last year, and we've started delivery earlier than last year and we've already reached 26,000 people as of 30 September – in-kind and cash assistance, the stoves, the warm clothes, the fuel. Cash assistance is a dignified form of assisting because it gives people a choice over what to spend their money on. And Ukraine close to the frontline, of course, has disrupted markets but most of the country still has very much functioning markets.

UN News: Ukrainian officials report that all thermal power plants and almost all hydroelectric capacity in Ukraine is gone. What are the consequences for civilians? 

Matthias Schmale: So indeed, my understanding also is that we have 60 per cent of Ukraine's own energy production capacity partially or completely destroyed. It's getting quite cold. A big priority, a big impact of the destroyed energy capacity is that people don't have access to heating. And of course, heating comes with warm water and sometimes it comes with getting water because pumping stations need to be fueled.

So very clearly the impact of the energy destruction is severe on civilians. Our colleagues in human rights, the Office of the Commissioner (OHCHR), recently published a report where they demonstrated that the hits on the energy sector have direct consequences for civilians. I mentioned already earlier that we are trying to assist the government in reaching 1.8 million people, so we see 1.8 million people that are particularly vulnerable. There's over 3 million internally displaced people in Ukraine. And amongst those, they are the ones that are particularly vulnerable in collective shelters.

I've traveled in my first two months here around the country quite a bit, along the frontline. And just this week, I was in the south from Odesa, Mykolaiv and Kherson…It's not just rural areas and the areas along the frontline that are affected. People that live in high rise buildings are of concern in cities. We are working on seeing whether solutions can be found. 

UN News: What are some other major concerns and challenges today, like healthcare or education? I know it's too much to mention everything, but still the major concerns. 

Matthias Schmale: I would start actually with education, with the millions of children whose education has been interrupted. And during my travels around the country, many of education officials and our own colleagues from UNICEF and UNESCO have pointed out, that for younger children, not being in school and not having access to education is now almost six years, because of COVID.

Colleagues from across the UN system are trying to help. We're also trying to help with safe spaces in schools where they are open. And the one particularly fascinating experience for me was going to Kharkiv, where six schools are now functioning in underground metro stations - some 5,000 to 6,000 children, I think, In Kharkiv are actually in schools in underground.

There is a lot of healthcare infrastructure that was destroyed. My WHO colleague has mentioned the number – over a thousand health centres and hospitals that have been hit either completely or partially destroyed. So, infrastructure is affected. Our colleagues also recently published a report that shows the impact of damage in the energy sector on primary health centres. It's not just individuals and families that need to have energy and water. When you take in the places where they live, but it's all also public service institutions that needs to have access to energy. So, a concern is how to keep primary health care going and to help rebuild the health sector.

Then another issue I would like to mention is that Ukraine is now one of, if not the most heavily mined country in the world. And so, this is a big issue. And a lot of the mining, of course, it's along the frontline.

And in agricultural production there is some fascinating work going on. Colleagues in WFP and FAO help identify places and to screen them and help farmers to get back on their feet and recover agricultural production.

When I first heard FAO and WFP are involved in demining, I thought this must be mission creep. But now I am really convinced that this is good work, that they understand what they are doing, they are already involved in terms of an immediate response to the war, which is supporting mining, but also the early recovery, helping farmers to get back into demined fields.

One final thing I want to mention is the psychological impact on our team. Kyiv, where I am currently sitting, has a fairly good defence system. So, at the moment there's relatively rare direct hits and damage. But there is a huge psychological impact. There are periods where almost every night air siren warnings go off disrupting sleep. And of course, the constant worry; will rockets hit?

UN News: Is there any update on the humanitarian access to the Russian controlled territories? Any update that you would like to share?

Matthias Schmale: Sadly, the access to Russia-controlled areas is almost impossible. There's a little bit going on, but not directly. It's mainly through extremely courageous Ukrainian national partners and Ukrainian individuals.

UN News: How would you describe the overall cooperation with the Ukrainian government, including local authorities in the regions? 

Matthias Schmale: I would describe it as a very healthy, pragmatic collaboration. There was, after the full-scale invasion in February 2022 a rocky period, when, I think, the government was not at all – and the population partially – in my understanding, was not at all satisfied and impressed by what was offered.

But I must say at all levels, meaning district level, regional level, national levels, I have not met one person who has not recognized the incredible humanitarian action that has been delivered by the UN and its partners over the last two and a half-plus years.

I must pay tribute to my predecessor, Denise Brown, who was the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for almost two years and provided incredible and visionary humanitarian leadership. That has given the UN with all its components, meaning all of the agencies and programmes that are on the ground – and there are 22 – really a fantastic footprint in the country and great recognition.

The hope and expectation is that as long as the war lasts, we will continue providing humanitarian assistance. And that's becoming not so easy because we're getting less and less resources from the global community. Wherever there are opportunities for recovery and development, we have to earn our reputation.

We can't just assume because we are doing a good job on the humanitarian side, that the value added we provided, is recognized and accepted also for recovery and development.

Source: UN News (October 18, 2024)

IAEA Director General Statement on Situation in Ukraine

Experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) stationed at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) are reporting daily military activity in the vicinity, with some explosions occurring close to the facility. This ongoing situation underscores the persistent threat faced by the nuclear power plant, which remains at the heart of an active war zone, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi stated today.

No damage has been reported to the plant within the past week, and the IAEA team at the site has focussed its efforts on assessing the condition of the plant, as well as ongoing maintenance and training activities.

The IAEA team conducted regular walkdowns across the ZNPP. At the pumping station of unit 4, the team confirmed that the circulation pump used to maintain the flow of cooling water between the ZNPP discharge and intake channels is still operational. Its operation is dependent on the overall water level in the ZNPP cooling pond, which has been steadily decreasing since the destruction of the Kakhovka dam in June 2023.

In assessing maintenance at the plant, the IAEA team noted during a visit this week to cooling tower 1 damaged by fire in August 2024 that no maintenance activities were ongoing. The ZNPP informed the IAEA that it plans to use the support of external contractors to determine the extent of the damage.

The team was informed that two of the six mobile diesel generators, introduced following the Fukushima stress tests, that are available on site, were moved to other locations. One was now being used at the recently damaged Zaria substation and one at the pumping water supply station in the city of Enerhodar.

This week, the team was updated on ZNPP staffing numbers. Of the nearly 5000 ZNPP employees, 130 work at the training center, including 70 instructors. The goal is to expand the personnel to 6000.

The team performed radiation monitoring measurements on site and in the nearby city of Enerhodar, confirming that radiation levels were normal.

Separately, the IAEA teams at Khmelnytskyy, Rivne and South Ukraine nuclear power plants (NPPs) and the Chornobyl site experienced air raid alarms for several days over the past week but reported that nuclear safety and security is being maintained. The IAEA team at Khmelnytskyy sheltered twice over the past week.

The State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine (SNRIU) informed the IAEA that on 10 October three UAV flights were recorded within the monitoring zone of the South Ukraine NPP, and five in the evening of 14 October.

At the Rivne NPP, one of the two 750 kilovolt (kV) off-site power lines was put under maintenance and again reconnected within the past week. Additionally, it was reported to the team that one of the five 110 kV off-site power lines was disconnected and under planned maintenance.

The three teams at the Khmelnytskyy, Rivne and South Ukraine NPPs have successfully rotated over the past few days.

Also this week, antigen combo rapid test kits were delivered to the Khmelnytskyy, Rivne and South Ukraine NPPs and the Chornobyl site, as well as to Energoatom and SNRIU, in the 6th delivery under the IAEA medical assistance programme and the 70th under the Agency’s comprehensive programme of assistance to help Ukraine maintain nuclear safety and security. The delivery was supported by a contribution from Japan.

Source: AIEA

Finnish Prime Minister announces winter aid package for Ukraine

Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo has announced that Finland will provide Ukraine with a new aid package to help the country through the winter in the coming months.

"I was happy to tell Prime Minister Shmyhal that we will be able to send 11 assistant packages for winter in the outcoming months," Orpo said during a meeting with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal in Helsinki.

As the Finnish Prime Minister said, the package will include generators, transformers, oil burners, heating containers, cables, relays and working machinery.

He expressed gratitude to Finland’s private sector for its donations and ongoing support for Ukraine.

In September, it was reported that the Confederation of Finnish Industries launched a campaign to collect donations for energy equipment and machinery to aid Ukraine.

On 17 October, Norway increased its support for the energy sector to NOK 3 billion (approximately US$274.2 million) by winter as part of its long-term support plan for Ukraine.

Source: European Pravda