Weekly Update #27
September 5
September 5
SITUATION OVERVIEW
This section presents the most up-to-date information on the Ukraine conflict. Key sources of these data are:
The UN Office of the Commission of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
The UNHCR data portal
The International Office of Migration (IOM)
Further details may be obtained from the provided links to their respective websites.
General Figures
Refugees from Ukraine recorded across Europe
7,007,381
Last updated 30 Aug 2022
Refugees from Ukraine registered for Temporary Protection or similar national protection schemes in Europe
3,969,537
Last updated 30 Aug 2022
Border crossings from Ukraine (since 24 February 2022)
11,976,498
Last updated 30 Aug 2022
Border crossings to Ukraine (since 28 February 2022)
5,324,798
Last updated 30 Aug 2022
Refugees from Ukraine across Europe (as of 30 August 2022)
UKRAINE SITUATION MAP
The heaviest fighting was reported in the eastern Donetska oblast, and the area close to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in southern Ukraine was again affected by hostilities. Officials from the International Atomic Energy Agency are present at the nuclear facility, an action that may deter further shelling of the area.
While recent fighting in the area has caused some damage to the plant, so far there has not been any recorded increase in radiation levels in the area. Nuclear experts around the world have warned that a nuclear catastrophe is imminent if the Russians are not maintaining the plant correctly and if shelling in the area does not stop.
In non-government controlled areas of the oblast, most civilian casualties and damage to civilian buildings and infrastructure were reported in the front-line cities of Donetsk, Horlivka and Makiivka. The EU is giving more than five million anti-radiation tablets to Ukraine, as fears grow of an accident at the plant
Internally Displaced Populations (As of August 23, 2022)
6,975,000 ESTIMATED INTERNALLY DISPLACED WITHIN UKRAINE
Source: IOM Operational Update 23-29 August 2022
IOM Ukraine Internal Displacement Report: General Population Survey - Round 8, 23 August 2022
As of 23 August, the number of internally displaced people in Ukraine had increased by 330,000 over the previous month to almost 7 million, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in its General Population Survey Round 8. The report confirms that most newly displaced Ukrainians come from the east and south of the country – and that they represent 81 per cent of all internally displaced people nationwide.
The report also says that 6 million Ukrainians who fled their homes earlier in the war have since returned to their places of origin, mainly to Kyiv and the northern oblasts. But, among the 6.97 million Ukrainians who are currently displaced, more than 60 per cent have been displaced for three months or longer, and their needs are growing, including cash, employment, and adequate housing for winter.
Of all respondents currently in their place of habitual residence, 20% indicate they have returned following a minimum of 2 weeks in displacement due to the war, equivalent to an estimated 6,013,000 returnees. This is a 8% increase from the Round 7 estimate. All macro-regions except Kyiv have experienced a cumulative increase in returns over the last month.
The growth in returns was the smallest in the East macro-region, which is estimated to have received additional 9,000 new returnees – despite the ongoing insecurity in the macro-region. It is impossible to determine whether returns are permanent or temporary, though in Round 8, among returnees, 78% indicate they are planning to remain in their homes (equivalent to 4.7M returnees).
Source: Internal Displacement Report: General Population Survey - Round 8, 23 August 2022
Civilian Casualties
The Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) verified, as of 28 August, at least 13,718 civilian casualties across Ukraine since the war began
5,663 people killed (2,195 men, 1,512 women, 149 girls, and 178 boys)
8,055 injured (1,652 men, 1,222 women, 239 boys and 177 girls)
Most civilian casualties have continued to be recorded and verified in the eastern Donetska and Luhanska oblasts.
Civilian casualties in Ukraine from 24 February to 28 August 2022
(individual cases verified by OHCHR), per month
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE HUMANITARIAN CRISIS AND RESPONSE
The global generous response to the unending needs brought about the tragedy of war has been inspired by the resilience of the Ukrainian people who have been displaced by the war, but who persist in their faith in divine help, as expressed by ICMC Secretary-General Msgr. Robert Vitillo.
While the UN and partners have reached over 12 million people in need since the start of the war, but less than 1 million in non-government controlled areas (NGCAs) of Ukraine are reached, whose humanitarian needs are acute. The Humanitarian Coordinator assured the Ukraine government that the UN is constantly negotiating for access to allow humanitarians to deliver “absolutely necessary” relief items across the front lines.
On 26 August, a convoy organized by the UN and our partners reached Toretsk in Donetska oblast, delivering 56 tons of food and other relief items for 2,000 people living close to the front line and under frequent shelling. And on 29 August, the UN and partners also delivered the last of six truckloads of humanitarian assistance to Mykolaiv, a city entirely cut off from the central water supply and impacted daily by shelling and missile strikes.
In other humanitarian responses, the Government of Denmark announced on 25 August a contribution of $1.6 million to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to strengthen Ukraine’s coordination of demining and the removal of unexploded ordnance.
In this section, we feature snapshots of the different ways key humanitarian partners, such as the United Nations agencies and various faith communities, have been engaged in alleviating the devastating impacts of this tragic war. These information are regularly provided by humanitarian actors and reflect activities/results undertaken in the previous week. Further details are available from the links provided.
Food Security
About 9.3 million people across Ukraine urgently need food and livelihood assistance. Six months since the start of the conflict in Ukraine, WFP continues to step up its efforts, assisting over 2.6 million conflict-affected people in August to date, amid an escalation of fighting deteriorating an already dire situation.
Food distributions are concentrated in the east and south of the country, where fighting and supply chain disruption make food inaccessible to families who have remained in Ukraine’s frontline and hard-hit areas, such as Zaporizhzhia (only 8 km from the frontline), Kurakhove, Mariinka, and Selidove.
For sustainable food supply, the Food Security and Livelihood Cluster is currently conducting several types of livelihood activities, such as providing agricultural inputs (seeds and basic tools), technical vocational education training and grants for business, job creation or access to employment.
Livelihood development efforts have become a priority, due to job losses caused by the war. The United Nations Development Programme is conducting ongoing Technical Vocational Education Training in Dnipro as a step towards a pilot project, Creation of Businesses Support Centre in Lviv. Meanwhile, the Danish Refugee Council provided cash assistance for the purposes of Technical Vocational Education Training in Kyiv and Zaporizhzhia.
Sources: https://reports.unocha.org/en/country/ukraine/
WFP Limited Emergency Operation External Situation Report, 02 September 2022
Health
Some 14.5 million people in Ukraine are estimated to need health assistance. Access to health care continues to be severely impacted due to security concerns, restricted mobility, broken supply chains and mass displacement. The risk of disease outbreaks has considerably increased due to the lack of access to water, sanitation and hygiene, crowded conditions in underground shelters and collective centres, as well as suboptimal coverage for routine vaccination.
Attacks on Health
WHO reported increased attacks on health facilities over the recent period.
The Health Cluster’s 153 partners have reported completed and/or ongoing activities in 591 settlements reaching over 6 million people.
Sexual and gender-based violence is a major human rights violation in Ukraine, with 66% of Ukrainian women reporting to have experienced physical and psychological sexual violence in the context of the war. As health workers have a key role in providing the needed service to SGBV survivors, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine and WHO and its partners have launched formal training of public health care professionals on first-line aid and support.
Vital life-saving medical services continue to be provided under the dangerous environment of war by the Ukraine government and humanitarian organizations. The International Medical Corps (IMC) has supported over 120 hospitals, primary health centres, and mobile and static medical units with equipment, materials, and medicines. IOM’s mobile clinics have extended thousands of medical and psychosocial consultations, while UNICEF had distributed portable infant warmers for neonatals and given mental health consultations for children.
Ukraine’s healthcare system is preparing for a difficult winter, in collaboration with humanitarian partners. In anticipation of mounting health needs, building the capacity of the Ukrainian health workforce and system is a primary goal, as well as reducing the inequities in access to health care by children, women, and the elderly.
Sources: https://reports.unocha.org/en/country/ukraine/
Protection
The humanitarian situation of Ukrainian refugees and internally displaced populations remains dire, as the conflict shows no sign of abating. As the war has raged on, an increasing number of vulnerable populations in Ukraine and in refugee-hosting countries have been disproportionately impacted, which now include the elderly, people with disabilities, women, and children. The approaching winter season is an additional challenge to providing basic survival needs and to protecting the rights of survivors from conflict-related violence.
The Protection Cluster for Ukraine is coordinated by UNHCR and is composed of 128 partners, which are engaged in various areas, such as child protection, GBV, mine action, and protection. Together, they have addressed the range of protection needs of Ukraine’s vulnerable populations.
PROTECTION CLUSTER RESPONSE AS OF SEPTEMBER 2022
The rollout of the Spilno Child Spots network of UNICEF continued across the country, with 25 new spaces opened at faith-based institutions during the reporting period. Facilitated by the religious leaders, the Spots have already received 10,517 visitors who benefitted from edutainment activities, PSS, and other services. There are now 220 Spilno Spots operational across Ukraine, including 150 outdoor and indoor formats and 70 mobile services, which provide child protection services, health services, and registration for cash assistance.
IOM has provided general protection assistance to almost 18,698 IDPs and war-affected people in Ukraine since February. Since the beginning of the full-scale war, the National Toll-Free Counter-Trafficking and Migrant Advice Hotline has provided 92,972 consultations in response to 23,728 calls received.
Sources: https://reports.unocha.org/en/country/ukraine/
Protection Cluster Response - September 2022
UNICEF Ukraine Humanitarian Situation Report No. 19, 26 July - 24 August 2022
Education
With the start of the school year, the impact of the war on Ukraine’s education system has been strongly felt. Across the country, schools have been targeted or used in the conflict, and many families do not feel safe sending their children to school. An initial study, Education Needs Assessment, concluded that 75 per cent of affected pre-school and general secondary education learners studied online. This proportion is expected to change in the coming school year. Based on the available information, a larger portion of schools will initiate hybrid learning in the fall, with the option to switch online depending on heating access and security needs.
The assessment also showed that 11 per cent (3,500 out of 31,347) of school and learning facilities are not available for educational activities as they are being used to host the displaced.
Across the country, schools were reported to be making repairs and building or arranging access to bomb shelters. Ukraine’s Education Ministry reported that, as of 30 August, more than 2,400 educational institutions had been damaged in the war and that 270 of them (11 per cent) were destroyed.
The start of the new school year across Ukraine on 1 September will, in the context of the ongoing war, reportedly feature a mix of in-class and distance learning – depending on the security situation in the individual oblasts and the availability of bomb shelters. According to the Education Cluster, the lack of bunkers and early warning alarm systems connected to schools can also delay the start of the school year in September, as these Ministry of Education and Science requirements must be met for schools to reopen.
To mitigate the impacts of the upcoming winter on the humanitarian situation, UNICEF Ukraine is rolling out an integrated winter preparedness plan through the country office’s existing humanitarian programme for children. Focus will be put on providing integrated support in schools, alternative care centres, and hospitals, and on reaching children on the move with winter clothing and providing humanitarian cash assistance to households with access to markets.
Sources: https://reports.unocha.org/en/country/ukraine/
UNICEF Ukraine Humanitarian Situation Report No. 19, 26 July - 24 August 2022
Economic and Shelter Assistance
Some 11.2 million people need shelter assistance and non-food items-related support. Timely delivery of humanitarian relief items, particularly to hard-to-reach areas, remains a challenge due to ongoing insecurity and logistics constraints.
A core aspect of economic assistance for Ukrainian refugee and IDPs is multi-purpose cash assistance, which is a modality in the wider humanitarian response and had been introduced into the Ukraine context since 2014. A Cash Working Group composed of 31 partner organizations, including 5 UN organizations, and co-chaired by UNOCHA and an international NGO, has collaborated in overseeing this significant program.
3.49 million people have been assisted with cash assistance totaling US $738.6 million
Sources: https://www.humanitarianresponse.info/en/operations/ukraine/cash-working-group
https://reports.unocha.org/en/country/ukraine/
The Shelter and Non-Food Items Cluster partners are seeking ways to boost the capacities of existing collective centres (CCs) with regard to repairs and negotiating with CC facilities to allocate additional space for internally displaced people. In total, 1 million people have been reached by the Cluster partners with assistance. Nearly 903,000 people have been reached with NFIs, and over 98,500 people have benefitted from acute emergency shelter support.
UNHCR, WFP, IOM, UNICEF have supplied wide-ranging support to address basic needs. UNHCR has delivered emergency shelter kits and relief items; WFP has facilitated access of the inter-agency humanitarian cargo on behalf of other organizations; IOM has provided repair services of shelters and sewage and ventilation systems; UNICEF has given water purification chemicals, and equipment to water companies to ensure safe water supply.
Sources: https://reports.unocha.org/en/country/ukraine/
UNHCR Ukraine Situation Flash Update #28 (2 September 2022)
WFP Limited Emergency Operation External Situation Report, 02 September 2022
UNICEF Ukraine Humanitarian Situation Report No. 19, 26 July - 24 August 2022
HOLY FATHER ON UKRAINE
Angelus - 4 September 2022
And now we turn in prayer to the Virgin Mary, so that she might obtain the gift of peace throughout the world, especially for war-torn Ukraine. May she, the first and perfect disciple of the Lord, help us follow the example and holiness of life of John Paul I.
Ed ora ci rivolgiamo in preghiera alla Vergine Maria, perché ottenga il dono della pace in tutto il mondo, specialmente nella martoriata Ucraina. Lei, la prima e perfetta discepola del Signore, ci aiuti a seguire l’esempio e la santità di vita di Giovanni Paolo I.
Links to the full text in ITALIAN and ENGLISHGeneral Audience - 31 August 2022
Saluto cordialmente tutti i polacchi. Domani ricorderete lo scoppio della Seconda Guerra Mondiale, che ha segnato così dolorosamente la nazione polacca. E oggi stiamo vivendo la Terza. La memoria delle esperienze passate vi spinga a coltivare la pace in voi stessi, nelle famiglie, nella vita sociale e internazionale. Preghiamo in modo speciale per il popolo ucraino. Maria vi sostenga nella scelta quotidiana di bontà, giustizia e solidarietà con i bisognosi, generando nei vostri cuori speranza, gioia e libertà interiore. Vi benedico di cuore.
Links to the full text in ITALIANIn the context of the war in Ukraine, there are numerous interventions by the Holy Father Francis and his collaborators in this regard. For the most part, their purpose is to invite pastors and the faithful to prayer, and all people of good will to solidarity and efforts to rebuild peace.
On more than one occasion, as in recent days, public discussions have arisen on the political significance to be attached to such interventions.
In this regard, it is reiterated that the Holy Father's words on this dramatic issue should be interpreted as a voice raised in defence of human life and the values associated with it, and not as a political stance. As for the large-scale war in Ukraine, initiated by the Russian Federation, the Holy Father Francis' interventions are clear and unequivocal in condemning it as morally unjust, unacceptable, barbaric, senseless, repugnant and sacrilegious.
Italian Original Text: Comunicato della Santa Sede, 30.08.2022
Vatican News: Pope: Let us pray for the Ukrainian people; we are going through the third world war
Vatican News: Pope prays for world peace, remembering Ukraine
Vatican News: Pope: We ask the Mother of God for peace in the world and in Ukraine
NEWS
Bishop Gudziak: gratitude for the sacrifice of the fallen will help to find strength from God
Ukrainian bishops took part in the Mass on the occasion of the beatification of Pope Ivan Paul I
In Prague, a priest of the UGCC took part in an international conference dedicated to Ukraine
Ukraine's Ambassador to the Holy See: We are satisfied with the Vatican's statement
The International Congress of Renovabis ended in Munich, in which bishops of the UGCC took part
IMAGES FROM CR4U MEMBERS
Wheelchairs ready for shipment from KLIKA, a Polish Catholic organization providing essential items for Ukrainians living with disabilities.
Credit: https://www.icmc.net/2022/08/10/transporting-wheelchairs-into-ukraine