Weekly Update #22
August 1
August 1
UNITED NATIONS REPORTS
As of 25 July, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) recorded 12,272 civilian casualties in the country: 5,237 killed – including 348 children – and 7,035 injured. OHCHR notes that the actual figures are likely considerably higher. OHCHR reports that most of the civilian casualties recorded were caused by the use of explosive weapons with a wide impact area, including shelling from heavy artillery and multiple launch rocket systems, and missile and air strikes.
Five months since the escalation of the international armed conflict in the country, deadly shelling and missile attacks continue, causing destruction, civilian injuries and deaths. Hostilities have destroyed more critical infrastructure, leaving millions overall without access to basic lifelines such as health services, water, electricity and gas supplies.
The following summary prepared based on UNHCR FLASH UPDATE #23, published on 29 July 2022.
Background
Since the beginning of hostilities, 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 over 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 9.9 million movements out of Ukraine have been recorded since 24 February, with over 3.9 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.
Refugees from Ukraine across Europe (as of 26 July 2022)
Individual refugees from Ukraine recorded across Europe
6,162,309
Last updated 26 Jul 2022
Refugees from Ukraine registered for Temporary Protection or similar national protection schemes in Europe
3,744,925
Last updated 26 Jul 2022
Border crossings from Ukraine (since 24 February 2022)
9,926,884
Last updated 26 Jul 2022
Border crossings to Ukraine (since 28 February 2022)
3,995,658
Last updated 26 Jul 2022
Key Figures - Refugee Hosting Countries (as of 27 July)
1,375,265 people enrolled for cash assistance in Moldova, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia.
POLAND
1,246,315 refugees have applied for temporary protection
273,586 refugees enrolled for multipurpose cash assistance
SLOVAKIA
85,964 refugees from Ukraine estimated to have remained in the country
50,405 refugees enrolled for cash assistance
REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA
86,880 people have received multipurpose cash assistance
67,279 people have received multipurpose cash assistance
Twelve Member States of the European Union – Austria, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain – as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland have made pledges to transfer 17,870 refugees from Moldova as part of the EU Solidarity Platform. So far, over 1,900 persons have transferred to European countries from Moldova. Among the transfers coordinated in the context of the Solidarity Platform, 1,771 vulnerable refugees have transferred to Austria, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland by flight. In addition, Lithuania transferred over 200 persons from Moldova by bus, on a bilateral basis.
ROMANIA
48,182 refugees registered for temporary protection
11,226 refugees enrolled for cash assistance
28,294 refugees provided with information and counselling in person or over the phone
11,778 people supported to travel to Romania from Moldova
HUNGARY
27,316 refugees have applied for temporary protection
17,160 people provided with protection support by UNHCR and partners, including legal information provision, counselling and psychosocial support
As the war in Ukraine enters its sixth month, attacks in the country’s south intensify.
The port of Odesa was affected on 23 July, just a day after the agreement on grain export via Black Sea ports was reached.
The civilian toll of the war also increases as hostilities continue to be reported across Ukraine. Over 12,200 reports of civilians killed or injured have been verified so far.
Amid deteriorating humanitarian and security conditions, the UN and partners delivered 50 tons of life-saving aid for 5,000 people to a severely affected Stepnohirsk.
Since 24 February, humanitarians have reached 11.65 million people with protection services, food, water, medication, shelter materials and other life-critical items
The following summary prepared based on OCHA Situation Update Report , published on 27 July 2022.
KEY FIGURES
15.7M People in need
8.7M People targeted (under revision)
11.65M People reached
6.65M Internally displaced
6.16M Refugees in European countries
ANALYSIS - General Security and humanitarian situation
The situation in Ukraine remained volatile during the reporting period and extremely dangerous for civilians as the war entered its sixth month. United Nations staff in Odesa witnessed the 23 July missile strike in the city’s port area the day after the Black Sea Grain Initiative was reached between the Russian Federation and Ukraine. The agreement is intended to allow the resumption of the export of grain and other agricultural products to global markets from Ukraine. Secretary-General António Guterres “unequivocally condemned” the attack, but more have followed in Odeska oblast. Multiple attacks on 26 July reportedly struck locations, including the resort town of Zatoka, damaging a bridge and injuring at least one person. Humanitarian security reports say that attacks have impacted Odeska oblast 20 times so far this month, resulting in the deaths of 21 civilians and injuries to 50 others.
Meanwhile, the port city of Mykolaiv in neighbouring Mykolaivska oblast continued to be shelled daily following multiple attacks last week, including one that destroyed a warehouse serving as a storage facility for humanitarian aid. The Mykolaiv Mayor reported that missile strikes on 23 July damaged buildings including another warehouse, an educational facility, residential buildings and houses – and injured five civilians. Humanitarian security reports say Mykolaivska oblast has been impacted by attacks at least 184 times in July, and that, besides damaging and destroying infrastructure, they have killed a total of 22 civilians and injured 86 others.
Fighting on the ground remained focused in the east, especially in Donetska oblast. The city of Sloviansk, located in Government-controlled areas, has become a renewed focus of the hostilities – amid growing concerns about the humanitarian conditions there. The mayor of Sloviansk said that current damage to infrastructure could cause the water supply system to freeze and cease to function as soon as temperatures drop below zero later this year. The mayor also reported that the gas supply system has been damaged and may not be repaired before winter. He repeated calls for residents to evacuate while they still could. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian authorities reported continuing water shortages in Mariupol, which is located in areas outside of Government control, with limited or no access to safe water for many residents.
Also, in eastern Ukraine, there continued to be daily reports of shelling in Kharkiv and Kharkivska oblast, resulting in damage to civilian infrastructure and multiple civilian deaths and injuries. The oblast Governor noted that the shelling sometimes sparks fires that destroy crops, including, in one case, 30 hectares of wheat. And on 26 July, shelling was reported to have damaged a gas pipeline, cutting off the supply to about a thousand homes. UN colleagues, including from OCHA, have been conducting missions to Kharkiv more regularly recently, observing firsthand the extensive damage to the city and oblast.
Energoatom, Ukraine’s nuclear power operator, pointed to another worrying development on 21 July when it reported that more military equipment, explosives, ammunition and weapons had been stored inside the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant – representing a serious risk to public health and the environment. The plant is located in a part of the south-eastern Zaporizka oblast that has been beyond the control of the Government of Ukraine since early March.
ANALYSIS - Civilian casualties
In addition to eastern and southern Ukraine, attacks and civilian casualties were reported across Ukraine again this week. For example, a relatively rare missile strike was reported in central Kirovohradska oblast on 23 July and shelling in north-eastern Sumska oblast on 26 July. And there were multiple reports of civilian casualties indirectly related to the hostilities. A 65-year-old woman was reported to have died on 20 July after receiving severe injuries in a mine explosion in a forest in the village of Myla in northern Kyivska oblast two days earlier. On 24 July, a 39-year-old man was reported reportedly when the tractor he was driving hit an explosive device in the settlement of Kulynychi outside Kharkiv. Two days later, on 26 July, a tractor in Zelenodolsk in central Dnipropetrovska oblast was also reported to have struck and set off a mine – though, while the tractor was damaged, the driver was unharmed. On 25 July in western Volynska oblast, at least one civilian was reportedly killed and two injured by falling debris from anti-aircraft missiles. And on the same day, a family of four was reported to have a collision between a passenger car and a military truck in non-Government-controlled areas of Zaporizka oblast.
The total number of verified civilian casualties after five months of war has now exceeded 12,000. The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) has verified, as of 24 July, 12,272 civilian casualties since 24 February – 5,237 people killed (including 2,019 men, 1,379 women, 164 boys and 143 girls) and 7,053 injured (including 1,384 men, 1,017 women, 215 boys and 150 girls). More than half of the casualties (6,849) were recorded and corroborated in eastern Donetska and Luhanska oblasts. HRMMU believes the actual totals are considerably higher, as the receipt of information from some locations has been delayed, many reports are still pending confirmation, and the ongoing war means the totals continue to increase daily.
ANALYSIS - Displacement trends
There were relatively fewer reports this week of civilians fleeing areas of active hostilities. Municipal authorities in Mykolaiv reported on 25 July that some 130 people were successfully evacuated from front-line settlements in the oblast and bussed to Odesa. But another report this week, on 24 July, of more than a thousand private vehicles, lined up for days at a checkpoint in Vasylivka, in non-Government-controlled areas of Zaporizka oblast, and not being allowed to cross into Government-controlled areas and drive north toward Zaporizhzhia. The thousands of people, believed to be mainly from the city of Melitopol and neighbouring Khersonska oblast, were reportedly waiting in their vehicles for days – in the heat and with limited or no access to shelter, water, hygiene or health care. Six people have reportedly died while waiting to cross.
(reporting period: 14–27 July 2022)
KEY UPDATES
According to WHO’s Surveillance System for Attacks on Health Care, there have been 414 attacks on health care, resulting in 100 injuries and 85 deaths, reported between 24 February and 27 July. Attacks on health care include those against health facilities, transport, personnel, patients, supplies and warehouses. These attacks deprive people of urgently needed care, endanger health-care providers, and undermine health systems.
WHO has supported the health response in Ukraine by providing, among other things: training on COVID-19, chemical preparedness and response and mass casualty management; technical expertise on the national immunization strategy; trauma and burn kits, and support for medical evacuation (medevac) after the attacks on Vinnytsya; technical expertise on environmental health issues, including water-related preparedness and response measures, in view of a potential cholera outbreak.
The WHO team visited western Ukraine (Lviv, Zakarpattya and Rivne oblasts) with the Deputy Minister of Health and partners from the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI). In Lviv they carried out an assessment of readiness to respond to a poliomyelitis (polio) outbreak, which included a surveillance and vaccination review. The risk of polio is currently high in Lviv due to the large number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) currently residing there. The assessment concluded that there was a need to spread information on polio preparedness and vaccination in rural areas of Ukraine, particularly those with the lowest vaccination rates, where distrust in vaccines may be more common.
Distribution of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and refugees in Ukraine and in refugee-hosting countries as of 26 July 2022
WHO and partner actions in Ukraine
Medical evacuation of patients (medevac) A total of 877 patients requiring medevac (79% of the requests received from the European Commission) have been evacuated from Poland, Republic of Moldova, Slovakia, and Ukraine for medical treatment in 18 other European countries via the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism. Among current requests, a further 8% are in transit. These evacuations are mainly due to chronic conditions and traumatic injuries. Transportation of patients within Ukraine is provided by the national emergency services, while transportation across the border to other countries within the European Union (EU) is managed by international EMTs and coordinated by the CADUS team, a German nongovernmental organization (NGO) that provides EMT support.
Health information and operations The health sector response continues to prioritize saving lives and protecting mental health. Actions focus on ensuring access to health care for wounded people and others affected by the armed conflict, COVID-19, polio, and other health threats and hazards. Continuity of treatment and care for people with NCDs – including diabetes and cancer – is a top priority.
Supplies and logistics
WHO has delivered to Ukraine (as of 26 July) 836 metric tonnes of medical supplies, valued at US$ 563.7 million. Of this, 440 metric tonnes of supplies have been delivered to 24 oblasts.
Over the past week, more than 56 metric tonnes of medical supplies, valued at more than US$ 1 million, were delivered to warehouses across Ukraine.
Ten ambulances designated for the MoH have reached the Lviv warehouse.
An additional nine truckloads of supplies (78 metric tonnes) are awaiting dispatch to Ukraine.
WHO continues to support Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in importing controlled medicine (e.g. narcotic analgesics) kits for various beneficiaries around Ukraine.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
In July, WFP has served over 1.5 million beneficiaries with food and cash assistance to date.
The Basic Agreement is signed by the Government of Ukraine on 08 July, giving WFP official accreditation.
On 4 July, WFP opened a common humanitarian hub space in Odesa, to respond to expanding needs for assistance in Ukraine.
From 13-15 July, WFP Chief of Staff visited key operational sites in Ukraine.
On 14 July, the Emergency Coordinator attended a coordination meeting in Romania to augment food exports through both sea and overland corridors
WFP Ukraine Response
WFP Ukraine Response In July so far, WFP served over 1.5 million beneficiaries. Improved planning and monitoring, increased partnership coverage, and strengthened supply chains contribute to WFP’s reach. More than half of the total number of beneficiaries reached so far in July received food assistance in the form of ready to eat foods and more substantial rations of dry goods. Food distribution is mainly in the east of the country where the conflict is at its most intense. The remaining beneficiaries are displaced people who have moved to different areas to seek safety across the country, and they receive mainly cash. WFP served approximately 800,000 people with cash worth USD 55 million in July to date. For new enrolments, WFP is using block-chain technology, to minimise the possibility of individuals being registered for cash more than once. Up to three individuals per household receive a monthly cash transfer equal to 2,220 UAH (USD $75) through banks, facilitated by the money transfer company Western Union (WU). Cash transactions are redeemed at banks via WU codes sent to mobile phones.
Please see the complete report for detailed information External Situation Report #22 (July 18, 2022)6,645,000 EST. INTERNALLY DISPLACED WITHIN UKRAINE AS OF 23 JULY 2022
60% lost their jobs due to the war among those who were employed before the war
64% WOMEN / 36% MEN
Top 5 oblasts by SHARE OF HOSTED IDPs
DNIPROPETROVSK 15%
KYIV 10%
KHARKIV 10%
POLTAVA 7%
KYIV CITY 7%
Other oblasts 51%
Top 5 oblasts of ORIGIN of IDPs
KHARKIV 28%
DONETSK 20%
KYIV CITY 8%
LUHANSK 8%
MYKOLAIV 7%
Other oblasts 28%
5,545,000 EST. TOTAL RETURNEES
Including returns of former IDPs from other locations within Ukraine, as well as self-reported returns from abroad (16%)63% WOMEN / 37% MEN
RETURNING FROM:
another city/region within home oblast 35%
another oblast in Ukraine 49%
another country 16%
RETURNING TO:
KYIV 25% (1,391,000)
EAST 17% (953,000)
SOUTH 8% (457,000)
WEST 11% (591,000)
NORTH 34% (1,905,000)
CENTRE 4% (248,000)
TOTAL 100% 5,545,000
Realities of return are different across Ukraine’s macro-regions. In the East, return locations are characterized by significant struggles to earn a living (93% of returnees agree this is an issue in their location), continued closure of businesses (80%), destruction of residential houses (71%), concerns with unexploded ordinance – Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) in houses and public spaces (52%), and lack of government service provision (27%), for example. In the North, 82% report that earning a living is difficult in their area due to the war, 76% report destruction of residential houses. 67% report closure of businesses, 65% indicate reduced farming and industrial activity in their area, and 43% indicate concerns with UXO in their communities. In Kyiv region, top concerns among returnees include inability to earn (86%), destruction of residential houses (80%), continued closure of businesses (78%), reduced farming and industrial activity (63%), and UXO concerns (47%).
Please see the complete report for detailed information Ukraine Internal Displacement Report GENERAL POPULATION SURVEY, ROUND 7, 23 JULY 2022
Recorded at oblast and RAION LEVEL, reporting period 12 - 24 July, 2022
Starting on 24 February 2022, the war in Ukraine triggered an unprecedented humanitarian crisis across the country. Between 12 and 24 July the International Organization for Migration (IOM) conducted an area baseline assessment of 836 hromadas* hosting IDPs in Kyivska, Dnipropetrovska, Poltavska, Vinnytska, Zakarpatska, Cherkaska, Lvivska, Khmelnytska, Ivano-Frankivska, Ternopilska, Odeska, Kirovohradska, Chernivetska, Zhytomyrska, Zaporizka, Chernihivska, Volynska, Rivnenska and Sumska oblasts in order to gather initial trends on the number and geographic location of officially recorded internally displaced persons.
This routine assessment supports the targeting and provision of humanitarian assistance to the affected population and serves as a preliminary source to identify oblasts and hromadas hosting high numbers of IDPs.
IOM compiled information on more than 2,300,000 IDPs in the 19 oblasts covered by Round 8 of DTM Area Baseline. Kyivska, Dnipropetrovska and Poltavska oblasts have the highest number of displaced, each hosting over 190,000 IDPs.
Dniprovskyi, Zaporizkyi, Vinnytskyi, Poltavskyi, Bilotserkivskyi raions have reported the largest populations of IDPs, with over 70,000 per raion.
IDPs' most frequent oblasts of origin have been Donetska, Kharkivska and Luhanska
Please see the complete report for detailed information Displacement Report - Area Baseline Report (Raion level) — Round 8
HOLY FATHER ON UKRAINE
Angelus - 31 July 2022
Also, during this journey, I did not cease praying for the suffering and battered Ukrainian people, asking God to free them from the scourge of war. If one looked at what is happening objectively, considering the harm that war brings every day to those people, and even to the entire world, the only reasonable thing to do would be to stop and negotiate. May wisdom inspire concrete steps toward peace.
Links to the full text in ENGLISH and ITALIANNEWS
Archbishop Kulbokas, apostolic nuncio to Kyiv speaks: a journey through pain perhaps in August. In many nations a superficial view of the conflict.
Original Italian article which appeared in Avvenire on July 23, 2022
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A ship carrying thousands of tonnes of grain leaves the Ukrainian port of Odesa for Lebanon on Monday under a safe passage agreement.
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Ukrainian authorities say Russia is moving large numbers of troops to Ukraine's south for battles against the country's forces through the newly occupied territories and Crimea. The military movements came as elsewhere in the country the Ukrainian government told people to evacuate ahead of an expected offensive by Russia's military there, while the Red Cross struggled to reach a prison where dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war were killed.
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The 158 days of war in Ukraine are not only military operations, but also the efforts of humanitarian organizations, parishes, monasteries and volunteers to maintain humanitarian aid. With the coming fall and winter, it becomes imperative to provide long-term assistance. It is appealed by the Archbishop of Lviv, Mieczysław Mokrzycki.
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MEMBER UPDATES
Order of Malta
Comprehensive Report on the Situation for the Sovereign Order of Malta #19
22 July 2022 – RESTRICTED USE - Circulated by email