Weekly Update #34
October 24

Drone and air attacks have been reported in Kyiv and across Ukraine on 17 October – a week after the intensification of countrywide air and missile attacks.

Some 680 civilian casualties have been recorded in Ukraine from 1 to 16 October by the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR).

Both residential and non-residential buildings have been struck – leading to deaths and injuries, while others have been rescued from the rubble, according to reports.

There has also reportedly been more damage inflicted on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, with hundreds of towns and villages having lost power, including in the north-eastern Sumska oblast and the central Dnipropetrovska oblast.

As fighting has continued in the east and south, attacks across Ukraine on 10, 11 and 12 October killed and injured dozens more people and damaged critical infrastructure.

The Russian Federation’s so-called annexation of Donetska, Khersonska, Luhanska and Zaporizka oblasts resulted in more uncertainty and insecurity for the people.

There were reports of at least three civilian convoys shelled in the Kharkivska and Khersonska oblasts, as well as in Zaporizka oblast, where at least 25 people were killed.

The UN and humanitarians have delivered aid to more people in the retaken areas of Kharkivska and Khersonska oblasts, reaching 13.4 million people across Ukraine since 24 February.

Despite the escalation of hostilities and challenges of helping millions of Ukrainians prepare for winter, Humanitarian Coordinator Denise Brown pledged that aid will not stop.

Sources: OCHA: ESCALATION OF ATTACKS ACROSS THE COUNTRY, Flash Update No.4 (October 17, 2022)

General Security and Humanitarian Situation

Fighting has continued in the east and south of Ukraine while shelling, and airstrikes were reported daily elsewhere. This included in the south-eastern city of Zaporizhzhia during much of the reporting period and then during a massive attack in cities right across the country on 10, 11 and 12 October – resulting in more civilian casualties and extensive damage to critical infrastructure. The shelling of civilian convoys in the eastern Kharkivska and south-eastern Zaporizka oblasts reportedly killed and injured dozens of people.

While the so-called referendums on parts of Ukraine joining the Russian Federation – eastern Donetska and Luhanska, southern Khersonska, and south-eastern Zaporizka oblasts – were condemned by Ukraine and its Western partners. President Vladimir Putin went on to announce the annexation of the regions 30 September. The moves – along with the Russian Federation’s announcement on 21 September of a military mobilization – have been widely interpreted as contributing to the uncertainty and instability around the war, including on the issues of freedom of movement and humanitarian access. On 12 October the UN General Assembly passed a resolution stating the attempted annexation of these regions as illegal. The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces reported that, in at least some cases, men in the areas that are not under control of the Ukrainian Government are being conscripted to fight in the war on the side of the Russian Federation.

The shelling of a convoy of civilian vehicles in Zaporizka oblast on 30 September resulted in the reported deaths of at least 25 people and injuries to 50 more. The people in the convoy had reportedly planned to drive into the areas of the oblast that were beyond the control of the Government of Ukraine to deliver supplies and evacuate relatives. Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine Denise Brown was among those who condemned the attack while saying that, unfortunately, it was only one of the attacks leading to civilian casualties in Ukraine that day. On 1 October, it was reported that a similar incident had occurred the previous week, likely on 25 September, when a convoy of civilian vehicles was shelled near Kupiansk in Kharkivska oblast – killing at least 20 people, including 13 children and a pregnant woman. On 7 October, a humanitarian security report identified at least five civilians killed and another five injured in an air attack while part of a civilian convoy in Khersonska oblast.

Source: OCHA Situation Report (October 12)

Internally Displaced Populations

(As of October 12)

Assessments from different agencies indicate that the situation remains far from stable. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported in its General Population Survey Round 9 that, while the total number of internally displaced Ukrainians decreased by more than 732,000 between August and September to 6,243,000 million, more than 740,000 people countrywide also said they are considering moving before the start of the heating season and winter.

IOM’s results are verified by various reports including:

The REACH Initiative report of September 30 on needs, responses and gaps
The study of the International Crisis Group released on 26 September, Responding to Ukraine’s Displacement Crisis: From Speed to Sustainability – arguing in part that “the grassroots effort organized to help them is not sustainable” and that, “donors should keep channeling aid to civil society but lay the groundwork for the state to step in.”

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

Ukraine: Humanitarian Situation Monitoring (September 2022)

Civilian Casualties (As of October 16, 2022)

From 24 February 2022, when the Russian Federation’s armed attack against Ukraine started, to 16 October 2022, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) recorded 15,908 civilian casualties in the country:

6,306 killed (2,454 men, 1,688 women, 164 girls, and 197 boys, as well as 36 children and 1,767 adults whose sex is yet unknown)
9,602 injured (2,015 men, 1,470 women, 201 girls, and 283 boys, as well as 239 children and 5,394 adults whose sex is yet unknown)

From 1 to 16 October 2022, OHCHR recorded 680 civilian casualties:

173 killed (64 men, 40 women, 1 girl, 3 boy, as well as 1 child and 64 adults whose sex is yet unknown);
507 injured (116 men, 85 women, 4 girls, 13 boys, as well as 15 children and 274 adults whose sex is yet unknown).

Per type of weapon/incident:

Explosive weapons with wide area effects: 164 killed and 487 injured (96 per cent);
Mines and explosive remnants of war: 9 killed and 20 injured (4 per cent).

Civilian casualties in Ukraine from 24 February to 16 October 2022 (individual cases verified by OHCHR)

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

OHCHR Civilian Casualties Report, October 16, 2022

Health

Some 14.5 million people in Ukraine are estimated to need health assistance.

According to the Ministry of Health, health facilities in areas where the Government of Ukraine’s regained control have suffered significant damage, with some completely destroyed. One of the main critical needs, according to the Ministry, is the provision of medicines and medical assistance to people with chronic diseases who have been deprived of access to health care for months

According to the latest IOM Ukraine Internal Displacement Report General Population Survey, 27 per cent of the respondents to the survey report lack of medicine and health services across Ukraine. Some 7 per cent stated that access to health care was their top need. The highest shortage of medications and medical services is noted in southern and eastern Ukraine (38 and 35 per cent, respectively). Almost half of the surveyed population reported that in the last 30 days, they or their family members have had to cut back on their health expenses, including families with vulnerabilities (people with disabilities, people aged 60 years and older, and the chronically ill.)

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

HOLY FATHER ON UKRAINE

Angelus - 23 October 2022

The day after tomorrow, Tuesday 25 October, I will go to the Colosseum to pray for peace in Ukraine and in the world, together with representatives of the Christian Churches and Communities and world religions, gathered in Rome for the “Cry of Peace” meeting. I invite you to join spiritually in this great invocation to God: prayer is the strength of peace. Let us pray, let us continue to pray for martyred Ukraine.

Dopodomani, martedì 25 ottobre, mi recherò al Colosseo a pregare per la pace in Ucraina e nel mondo, insieme ai rappresentanti delle Chiese e Comunità cristiane e delle Religioni mondiali, riuniti a Roma per l’incontro “Il grido della pace”. Vi invito ad unirvi spiritualmente a questa grande invocazione a Dio: la preghiera è la forza della pace. Preghiamo, continuiamo a pregare per l’Ucraina così martoriata.

Links to the full text in ITALIAN and ENGLISH

General Audience - 12 October 2022

E torniamo con il pensiero alla martoriata Ucraina e preghiamo per l’Ucraina: preghiamo per le cose brutte che stanno succedendo lì, le torture, le morti, la distruzione.

Links to the full text in ITALIAN

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