Weekly Update #21
July 26

Since the onset of the Russian invasion, nearly one-third of Ukrainians have been forced from their homes. This is the largest human displacement crisis in the world today. Within Ukraine, over 6.3 million people remain displaced by the war. As of today, UNHCR estimates there are close to six million refugees present across Europe. Over 3.7 million refugees from Ukraine have registered for temporary protection or similar national protection schemes. More than 9.5 million movements out of Ukraine have been recorded since 24 February, with almost 3.8 million movements back into the country. Inside Ukraine, many people who are trapped are unable to meet their basic needs including for food, water and medicines. The delivery of life-saving aid remains challenging, with a lack of safe humanitarian access in areas where intense fighting is ongoing. UNHCR and partners continue striving to reach hard-hit areas with life-saving assistance as part of inter-agency humanitarian convoys.

The war has continued to take a heavy toll on civilians. On 19 July, the Governor of Luhanska oblast – which is currently almost entirely beyond Government control – said it is difficult to know how many people had died in the east of the oblast and how many residents remained. He said the intensity of the shelling in recent months often made it impossible for people to recover the bodies of family members – and that there were cases of residents being killed when trying to do so. Also, on 19 July, the governor of Donetska oblast said that more than 600 civilians had been killed in the oblast, and over 1,600 had been injured. However, he added it is still impossible to have an accurate idea of the number of civilians killed and injured in the cities of Mariupol and Volnovakha, both previously inaccessible because of the fighting and currently beyond the control of the Government.

The total number of verified civilian casualties of the war is now approaching 12,000. The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) has corroborated, as of 17 July, 11,862 civilian casualties since 24 February – 5,110 killed (including 1,943 men, 1,342 women, 163 boys and 142 girls) and 6,752 injured (including

1,359 men, 1,001 women, 210 boys and 147 girls). More than half of the casualties (6,687) were recorded and corroborated in eastern Donetska and Luhanska oblasts. HRMMU believes the real totals are considerably higher, as the receipt of information from some locations has been delayed, and many reports are still pending confirmation.

About to enter its sixth month, the war in Ukraine the past week again featured what has become a worrying trend – missiles striking residential and commercial areas of a city and causing dozens of civilian casualties in a single incident. Reported missile strikes in Vinnytsia in central-west Ukraine on 14 July resulted in the deaths of 25 people, and over 200 others sought medical attention, 68 of whom were hospitalized. Among those reported to have been killed was a 4-year-old girl with Down syndrome, while a woman who died five days later from her injuries was identified as a neurologist and a mother of three. The attack on Vinnytsia is the third deadliest single attack recorded in Ukraine since 24 February. This incident also followed a missile strike on 9 July on Chasiv Yar in Government-controlled areas of eastern Donetska oblast that destroyed a municipal dormitory for vulnerable people, killing 48 civilians and injuring 9 and the shelling of a residential building and recreation centre in Serhiivka in southern Odeska oblast on 1 July that killed at least 21 people. The United Nations (UN) and other humanitarian actors have condemned the indiscriminate use of weapons in civilian areas, as the UN Chief António Guterres did following the attack on Vinnytsia in his statement, calling for “accountability for such violations.”

Meanwhile, the main fighting remained focused along the front line in eastern Donetska oblast. Authorities in Government-controlled-areas, entities in non-Government-controlled areas of the oblast and humanitarian partners, continued to report the shelling of residential areas, damage to civilian infrastructure, and civilians being killed and injured. In Government-controlled areas, the cities of Kramatorsk and especially Sloviansk – currently both on the front line – were reported to be under attack daily, with remaining residents being urged to evacuate. On 18 July, six civilians were reportedly killed when a missile struck a building further south in Toretsk, while two others were rescued from the rubble. More shelling and casualties in central Kramatorsk and Sloviansk were reported on 19 July. And photos taken in Sloviansk on 19 July for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) show damaged residential buildings and, in one case, an older man wearing bandages. Another photo shows a woman trying to clean up her balcony in a badly damaged apartment building – lacking windows and with the next apartment completely gutted and blackened by fire and smoke. These images vividly illustrate the conditions in which people live in many parts of Donetska oblast and the level of support required to help them prepare for the upcoming winter. In non-Government-controlled areas of Donetska oblast, cities and towns including Donetsk, Horlivka, Makiivka and Yasynuvata were also reported to be under fire daily. Just on 15 July, 12 civilians were reported to have been killed and 64 injured in 10 settlements, while several buildings, including schools and health-care facilities, have been damaged.

Similar to previous weeks, fighting and shelling were reported in other parts of the country. There were reports of daily missile attacks on Mykolaiv city and Mykolaivska oblast in southern Ukraine, as well as of only slightly less frequent attacks in neighbouring Odeska oblast. On 19 July alone, 43 people were reportedly injured in Mykolaiv, while hundreds more were already hospitalized with injuries received earlier. City authorities are reportedly considering “closing” the city for security-related reasons, which might prevent people from evacuating and put them at additional risk when the next attack happens. Closer to the Donbas region, there were also more reports of missile strikes and casualties in the city of Dnipro and Dnipropetrovska oblast on 14-16 July and in south-east Zaporizka oblast on 14 July. Eastern Kharkivska and north-eastern Sumska oblasts also continued to be impacted by shelling, resulting in civilian casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure.

The situation concerning the millions of people displaced in Ukraine is not expected to improve dramatically anytime soon. There are shifts in displacement locations as the active hostilities have also moved over the five months of the war, presenting new challenges. Only in Luhanska oblast, local authorities report that more than 300,000 people have been evacuated from the oblast since 24 February – or almost half of the pre-war population of 650,000. Moreover, Deputy Prime Minister warned on 17 July that over 500,000 people are anticipated to move west before winter – noting that, besides having to flee the fighting, they will have to leave areas cut off from gas and water supply. As of the end of June, International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimated that 6.3 million people were internally displaced, while nearly 6 million people sought refuge in European countries, according to the UN Refugee Agency.