Weekly Update #29
September 19

As the top three countries, Poland recorded 1,279,470 Ukrainians for temporary protection as of September 13, Germany recorded 655,800 as of September 6, and the Czech Republic registered 431,285 as of September 13.

Source: UNHCR Ukraine Situation Flash Update #30 (9 September 2022)

https://reports.unocha.org/en/country/ukraine/

UKRAINE SITUATION (As of September 14)

As the war passed the 200-day mark on 11 September, active hostilities continued in eastern and southern Ukraine, with more reports of civilian casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure – and wider-scale disruptions in power and water supplies. With the Ukrainian Government reportedly regaining control over most of the eastern Kharkivska oblast and parts of the southern Khersonska oblast, there was also increasing concern for the needs of the people living in these newly accessible territories and how best to support them with winter approaching.
The main fighting continued in the eastern Donetska oblast, where more than 100 civilian casualties – 34 killed and 72 more injured – were reported following missile strikes and shelling on both sides of the front line during the weekend, 9-11 September. Missiles strikes were also directed at northern, northeastern, central and southeastern oblasts, damaging power and heating plants and the reservoir dam, causing electricity and water interruptions.
Concerning the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) – located in the NGCA of Zaporizka oblast – the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), in its latest update from 13 September, said that, despite progress on repairs to the power infrastructure, the overall situation “remains precarious.” IAEA reported that, while Ukrainian personnel had made progress repairing power lines to provide the plant with the external electricity it needs for cooling and other safety functions, all six reactors were currently shut down, and ZNPP’s four main external power lines were also down – so that the plant was not providing electricity to households, factories and other users.
The Government of Ukraine’s counteroffensive operations in northeastern and southern Ukraine have liberated approximately 3,100 square miles of Ukrainian territory as of September 15, according to the Government, raising the prospect of improved humanitarian access to areas previously under Russian control. Access challenges and security concerns remain due to including ongoing Ukraine military operations. However, humanitarian organizations are conducting rapid needs assessments of liberated settlements and establishing localized stockpiles of relief commodities to support large-scale distributions of humanitarian assistance in the coming weeks.

Sources: https://reports.unocha.org/en/country/ukraine/

USAID - Complex Emergency Fact Sheet #28, Fiscal Year (FY) 2022

Internally Displaced Populations (As of September 2, 2022)

Between 22 August and 2 September, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) conducted an Area Baseline assessment of 946 hromadas (districts) hosting IDPs in 21 oblasts and Kyiv City in order to gather initial trends on the number and precise geographic location of officially recorded internally displaced persons.

IOM compiled information on more than 3,100,000 in the 21 oblasts (in addition to Kyiv City) covered by Round 11 of DTM Area Baseline. Key insights are:

Among oblasts, Kharkivska, Kyivska and Dnipropetrovska have the highest number of displaced persons, each hosting over 300,000 IDPs.
Meanwhile, Kharkivskyi, Kyivska, Dniprovskyi, Zaporizkyi and Poltavskyi reportedly host the largest populations of IDPs,with over 97,000 IDPs per raion.
Of the total IDPs, the majority have been displaced from Donetska, Kharkivska and Luhanska oblasts.

Distribution of IDPs in 21 oblasts

Nearly half (44 per cent) of displaced persons of working age are currently not earning any money. Only one third indicated a salary as their primary source of income following displacement, while 24 per cent rely on state support. As a result, most displaced households have resorted to measures such as cutting expenditures (70 per cent), including food, while one third of them have taken on new debt.

Within Ukraine, the western Lvivska and Zakarpatska oblasts both reported this week preparing for a possible increase in the number of Ukrainians resettling there this winter. The Lvivska oblast Governor reported in particular that the oblast is preparing an additional 50,000 places for displaced people while adding that as many as 100,000 could move there. He said there are already about 250,000 people registered as displaced in Lvivska oblast, but that the real number is closer to 450,000.

Sources: https://reports.unocha.org/en/country/ukraine/

IOM Ukraine — Displacement Report - Area Baseline Report (Raion level) — Round 11

Civilian Casualties

The total number of confirmed civilian casualties of the full-scale war has now exceeded 14,000. The Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) verified, as of 11 September, at least 14,248 civilian casualties:

• 5,827 people killed (2,270 men, 1,559 women, 187 boys and 153 girl

• 8,421 injured

Most civilian casualties continued to be recorded and verified in the eastern Donetska and Luhanska oblasts – 56 per cent or a total of 8,034 casualties, including 3,472 people killed and 4,462 injured.

At least 440 unmarked graves, including a mass grave, were found in Izium recently. Izium was subject to intense Russian artillery attacks in April. The city, which sits near the border between the Kharkiv and Donetsk regions, became an important hub for the invading military during five months of occupation. Ukrainian forces recently took back control of the city last week.

Sources: https://reports.unocha.org/en/country/ukraine/

CNN - Some bodies found at mass burial site in Izium show ‘signs of torture,’ Ukraine says

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.

The level of humanitarian response across the country continues to pick up the pace. Since the start of Russia’s war on Ukraine, over 560 humanitarian organizations have reached nearly 12.8 million people.

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 provide.

Food Security and Livelihoods

About 9.3 million people across Ukraine urgently need food and livelihood assistance. The Food Security and Livelihoods Cluster is working with partners to provide immediate response rations and cash assistance to newly displaced evacuees from Donetska to Kirovohradska oblast. Simultaneously, the Cluster is now targeting to provide assistance in the areas that are back under the Government of Ukraine’s control in Khersonska oblast in the next two weeks, in close coordination with local authorities and armed forces.

Between 23 August and 5 September, 28 Cluster partners reached 1.7 million people with in-kind food assistance across Ukraine. The majority of people were reached in Kharkivska oblast (around 406,000 people), followed by Zaporizka (173,000) and Dnipropetrovska (more than 174,000). These figures do not represent unique recipients of aid but the numbers of food assistance and/or services provided.
A further initiative towards a sustained recovery of the Ukraine economy is directed towards local procurement of agricultural and food products by the FSLC for its food assistance both in Ukraine and in other countries. Cooperation talks with the Ukrainian Milling Union and Ukrainian Grain Association have been initiated for information-sharing and purchase planning. Overall, the estimated value of the locally procured food (>236,000 mt) amounts to USD 109 million, of which USD 42 million worth was used for humanitarian programmes in-country, and USD 67 (>194,000 mt) million worth was exported to other operations of the World Food Program in Ethiopia and Yemen, through Romanian and Ukrainian ports.
Additional food supplies have been brought into Ukraine from neighboring countries. Sixty-four trucks were in transit to Ukraine by road over the past week, including 8 trucks from Romania, 22 from Poland, 34 trucks from Türkiye (previously delivered to Ukraine by sea) carrying 1,289 mt (canned meat, rice, and pasta) of cargo to Ukrainian warehouses in total

Sources: https://reports.unocha.org/en/country/ukraine/

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 centers, as well as suboptimal coverage for routine vaccination.

As of 31 August, 649 medical facilities continue to operate in the temporarily occupied territories and in the conflict zone.
As of 15 September, the Health Cluster reported reaching an estimated 8.6 million people across Ukraine. Specific UN agencies continued to strengthen their respective health services. Between 24 August and 6 September, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) supported 60 health-care facilities, including 23 perinatal centers in 15 oblasts, with medicines and medical equipment to ensure better access to life-critical and diagnostic services for nearly 216,000 children and caregivers. On 13 September, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) handed over 35 tons of aid, including vital medicines to medical facilities in war-affected areas.
Cooperation with Ministries of Health in refugee-hosting countries enable Ukrainian refugees to receive medical services. As part of its cooperation with the European Commission, and with support from WHO, the Government of Poland and many international partners, the MoH managed to evacuate more than 1600 Ukrainians from hardest hit areas to foreign clinics via specialized medical transport. In addition, a new EU Medevac Hub for Ukrainian patients being evacuated to Europe for treatment was just opened together with the Ministers of Health of Poland and Ukraine as part of a wider evacuation system launched by the European Union at the start of the conflict.

Sources: https://reports.unocha.org/en/country/ukraine/

Situation report from WHO Ukraine country office. Issue No.22, 7 September 2022

OCHA - Health Cluster Activities

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 partners are preparing for the arrival of thousands of new IDP groups, particularly in Lviv, Chernivtsi and Vinnytsia oblasts. Adequate numbers of collective centers have been identified and prepared to provide information materials, counselling services, food and non-food items.
Three UN agencies – UNHCR, IOM, and UNICEF – work in collaboration with their numerous partners to implement protection interventions, including legal assistance, to remote and conflict-affected areas. Using various mechanisms, such as UNICEF’s Rapid Response Multidisciplinary Teams, IOM’s mobile Mental Health and Psychosocial Services, and UNHCR’s Blue Dots, refugees and IDPs are given the needed support to face uncertain and disrupted futures.

Sources: https://reports.unocha.org/en/country/ukraine/

UNHCR Ukraine Situation Flash Update #30 (9 September 2022)

https://www.iom.int/ukraine-iom-response-2022

UNICEF Ukraine Humanitarian Situation Report No. 20, 24 August–6 September 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 Education Cluster reported a large gap in achieving their target of people reached.

Some progress had been made in providing needed facilities, but targets in other indicators are far from being reached. Nonetheless, partners have been able to provide educational services to 265,000 displaced children and train 27,000 teachers and other educational personnel on psychosocial support and provided with teaching resources.

Sources: https://reports.unocha.org/en/country/ukraine/

Protection Cluster National Meeting Minutes

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.

To date, 846,807 people have benefitted from core relief items and food assistance across eastern central and western Ukraine.
Support continued to communities most in need in heavily affected and hard—to-reach areas. Between September 6 – 12, UNHCR, with its core mandate to deliver core and essential commodities for refugees and displaced populations, and its partners provided over 1,000 Emergency Shelter Kits (ESKs) to the hardest-hit areas in Dnipropetrovska and Sumska oblasts, 400 ESKs to Khersonska and Mykolaivska oblasts to support the rapid repairs of damaged homes
The U.S. Government (USG) has supported the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), WFP, and seven INGOs to provide multipurpose cash assistance (MPCA) to help conflict-affected individuals meet their basic needs.

Sources: UNHCR Ukraine Operational Response Delivery Update - 7 September 2022

https://reports.unocha.org/en/country/ukraine/

USAID - Complex Emergency Fact Sheet #28, Fiscal Year (FY) 2022

HOLY FATHER ON UKRAINE

Angelus - 18 September 2022

I am saddened by the recent fighting between Azerbaijan and Armenia. I express my spiritual closeness to the families of the victims, and I urge the parties to respect the ceasefire in view of a peace agreement. Let us not forget that peace is possible when weapons are silenced and dialogue begins! And let us continue to pray for the suffering people of Ukraine and for peace in every land bloodied by war.

Sono addolorato per i recenti combattimenti tra l’Azerbaigian e l’Armenia. Esprimo la mia spirituale vicinanza alle famiglie delle vittime, ed esorto le parti a rispettare il cessate-il-fuoco, in vista di un accordo di pace. Non dimentichiamo: la pace è possibile quando tacciono le armi e incomincia il dialogo! E continuiamo a pregare per il martoriato popolo ucraino e per la pace in ogni terra insanguinata dalla guerra.

Links to the full text in ITALIAN and ENGLISH

Pope: To protect means to love the homeland; dialogue is always needed

Pope: Let's not get used to war, let's not accept the fact that it is inevitable

Pope: ‘Difficult to dialogue with those who started a war, but it must be done’