Weekly Update #64
May 22

REFUGEE SITUATION

(as of 16 May 2023)

OVERVIEW OF REFUGEE AND IDP DISTRIBUTION

(as of April 2023)

THE STATE OF THE CONFLICT

(as of 21 May 2023)

CIVILIAN CASUALTIES

(As of  May 14, 2023)

Total civilian casualties from 24 Feb 2022 - 14 May 2023

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has recorded 

23,821 civilian casualties in the country. This included 8,836 killed and 14,985 injured.

• 6,820 killed and 12,315 injured in territory controlled by the Government when casualties occurred;

• 1,971 killed and 2,670 injured in territory occupied by the Russian Federation when casualties occurred.

THE HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE

The humanitarian situation in the front-line Lymanska hromada of the eastern Donetska oblast remains difficult.   According to humanitarian partners and local authorities, hostilities have reportedly further intensified since the start of the year.

A grave humanitarian crisis is rapidly unfolding in the front-line areas of Donetska oblast where civilians are enduring heavy fighting and hostilities that have escalated over the past two months. UN and humanitarian partners have reached some 120,000 people in these communities with much-needed assistance this year however, many more still lack access to basic necessities like food, water, and health care.

During the briefing to the UN Security Council on 15 May, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator noted that the humanitarian operating environment in Ukraine remains complex and dangerous. He stressed that despite this “humanitarian workers continue to deliver assistance across Ukraine, with nearly 3.6 million people receiving humanitarian assistance in Ukraine in the first quarter of 2023.”

Lymanska hromada consists of 38 towns and villages. Its population decreased more than threefold from pre-war 43,000 to an estimated 13,000 people, including at least 600 children, 5,000 older people and about 300 people with disabilities, according to partners on the ground. The population of Lyman town – the administrative centre of the hromada, which is 20 kilometres from the front line in the north of Donetska oblast – is now estimated at 7,000 people, up from 5,000 in October 2022 when it was retaken by the Government of Ukraine and still a third of pre-war estimates. According to the international NGO REACH assessments and local authorities’ reports, around 100 people displaced from other areas currently live in the hromada. Before February 2022, Lymanska hromada hosted over 20,000 internally displaced people.

Nearly 85 per cent of the buildings in the hromada were destroyed when Ukraine’s Government regained control of the area in October 2022, according to the assessment conducted by REACH. Gas and electricity supply was largely disrupted due to severe infrastructure damage. Some villages, including Yampil, have been entirely disconnected from electricity, water supply and telecommunications since April 2022. And while the local authorities have reported that restoration works are ongoing, only 40 per cent of the consumers have electricity in the hromada (60 per cent in Lyman town), and only 10 per cent have access to gas. With only 20 per cent of the houses in Lyman town connected to piped water supply, most people use wells and outdoor pumps to obtain drinking water. Water supply is also one of the main challenges for some 900 residents of the five surrounding villages, which primarily rely on water trucking organized by the municipality.

Access to health care in the hromada is limited, with only one functional 40-bed hospital and a few primary health-care facilities. A medical point managed by a nurse is functional in Yampil village, and a medical consultant operates a similar medical point in Novoselivka village — both around 15 kilometres from Lyman town. One pharmacy has recently reopened in Lyman town, according to partners on the ground.

Market access is decimated, and only a few shops, including one in Yampil, stock essential food and basic items but at high prices. There are five ATMs and two bank branches in the hromada. A public bus also takes people to a bank in Kramatorsk – 40 kilometres away – where residents can access additional services. With no post offices in remote villages, a mobile team of the national postal service Ukrposhta delivers pension allowances for their residents in cash once a month.

All schools in the hromada have been closed since February 2022, and all education has moved online. However, as mobile and Internet coverage is only partially available across the hromada, access to education has been severely impacted. According to local authorities, repair works to restore communications in the area are ongoing.

The deterioration of the situation has caused many people to rely fully or partially on humanitarian assistance in the past months. Most critical needs include food, water, hygiene supplies, repair and construction materials, firewood stoves and gas containers, solar lamps, power banks, power generators, jerrycans and other essential household items. Additionally, people are short of bed sheets, mattresses and clothing. Medication, including to treat cardiac and blood pressure ailments, is needed to address health-care needs, especially for older people.

Sources: UNHCR Operational Response, Delivery Updates (17 May 2023)

OCHA Deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Donetska oblast - Flash Update #4: Lyman (16 May 2023)

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Humanitarian aid to conflict areas in Ukraine

The conflict did not stop humanitarian organizations from extending much-needed aid and support to the conflict areas.

Three more UN inter-agency convoys brought life-saving assistance once a month to those who have remained in and around Lyman. The most recent one, on 12 May, delivered aid to the 600 residents of severely impacted Yampil village, including emergency shelter and construction materials for 100 families, tarpaulin sheets for 300 families, household kits for 200 families, 600 solar lamps and jerrycans, 500 food parcels enough for the remaining population of the village for a month, medications, hygiene kits for 200 families provided by IOM, UNHCR, UNICEF, UNFPA, WHO and WFP. Non-governmental organizations Slavic Heart and ADRA conducted the last-mile delivery of humanitarian aid with the support of local authorities. Overall, in 2023, humanitarians provided vital assistance to about 120,000 people in Donetska oblast through inter-agency convoys – out of 1.5 million people estimated to need help on both sides of the front line in the oblast.

To support pressing needs, the international NGO People in Need (PIN) opened three social laundries in Lyman town in April, equipped with washing machines and tumble dryers. PIN also distributed bottled water, however, such support is not regular due to security risks. Médecins Sans Frontières operates mobile clinics across the hromada and a stationary medical container in Yampil village that offers medical consultations. IOM provides limited cash assistance in remote villages of the hromada, such as Yampil.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has provided livelihood assistance and support to boost food production in the areas around Lyman with the help of a national NGO – the Eastern Ukrainian Agricultural Department of the Service. In April, FAO distributed spring barley seeds to three farmers, two tons each, selected based on their applications to the State Agrarian Registry and recommendations of local authorities in areas reportedly safe from mine contamination. This allowed the farmers to sow ten hectares of land, expecting a harvest of 45 tons of grain by July 2023.

Source: UNOCHA

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A warehouse with an area of over 1000 square metres holding humanitarian aids in Ternopil burned down in a missile attack carried out on 13 May. “This is a warehouse where the humanitarian aid of the charitable foundation was stored. This warehouse was used for storing things handed over to hospitals to be distributed and transferred to the hardest-hit parts of the country,” said Ivan Gontar, entrepreneur and head of the Light of Reformation charitable foundation, who managed the warehouse.

In the past week the Ministry of Health (MoH) of Ukraine and the European Commission secured the evacuation of 24 injured Ukrainians for treatment in clinics in Germany, Lithuania, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Norway and Poland. Medical evacuations from Ukraine are carried out via the emergency response system of the European Union, when a specialized clinic in an EU Member State is urgently sought for treatment and rehabilitation of Ukrainians.

A strategic session on security issues in the Ukrainian health-care sector took place in Rzeszów on 10–11 May, attended by experts from the National Health Service of Ukraine. The country’s healthcare facilities are under constant assault, which has affected the health-care system as a whole. The planning session was held to coordinate activities between partners and projects in priority areas such as surveillance, including wastewater surveillance and data improvement; laboratory direction; and preparedness and response to emergency situations (including chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) threats).

Medical supplies equipment and essential medicines continue to be delivered to hard-hit areas in Ukraine.  As of 14th May, WHO received in its warehouses in the city of Kyiv and in Lviv medical supplies with a value of over US 79.33 million and a total weight of over 3273 metric tonnes.  They included Trauma and Emergency Surgery Kits ( 2019 WHO trauma bags, Interagency Emergency Health Kits ( and other items.

Between 8-14 May 2023, medical supplies and equipment with a total value exceeding US 1.1million and a total weight of more than 31 metric tonnes were delivered to 19 oblasts across Ukraine. They included IEHKs, trauma/surgery supplies and instruments, personnel protective equipment, medication and ambulances.

Trucks with necessary medical aids, medicines and equipment were deployed to to hospitals in Poltava and Kharkiv. Items delivered included trauma and emergency surgical kits such as medical supplies, consumables, general and orthopedic surgery tools

Source: WHO

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Progams and services form children are always the priority. Visits to UNICEF Spilno Spots increased from 127,000 in March to 153,000 in April, in part due to the opening of 13 new Spilnos where children can gather, play, access services such as psychosocial support and health care and be referred for specialized services.

With a third of the country contaminated with explosive ordnance or mines, UNICEF and partners reached 223,910 children and caregivers with messaging and engagement around International Mine Awareness Day on 4 April. This included 96,000 children who joined the national radio dictation on mine safety featuring the famous demining dog Patron.

There are an estimated 91,000 children in Ukraine in need of family-based care. The Better Care Flagship programme ‘Family for Every Child’ was launched in Lutsk on 28 April to move towards family-based care for all children in need of protection.

As of April, 2.4 million children are accessing learning online or through a mixed modality. To support these children, UNICEF distributed 20,000 digital learning devices to children to allow them to study online, prioritizing children in the east and south where insecurity prevents them from attending class in person.

UNICEF has ensured access to essential primary health care services for 1,500,000 children and women so far in 2023 through the provision of critical supplies and equipment. In April alone, 1,524 kits of medical supplies were dispatched to 259 health care facilities in 17 out of 25 regions in the country to meet the health care needs of 950,000 people.

Source: UNICEF

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Under the cash assistance programme, WFP disbursed more than USD 39 million in cash assistance to almost 660,000 people in need in April. WFP cash assistance programmes continue to serve the most vulnerable population affected by the armed conflict in areas where food is available in grocery stores, which promotes rehabilitation of local market conditions. The programme remains consistent with the previous month. Up to five individuals per household receive a monthly cash transfer equal to 2,220 UAH (USD 60) through banks, facilitated by the money transfer company, Western Union (WU). Cash transactions are redeemed at banks via WU codes sent to beneficiaries’ mobile phones.

Furthermore, value voucher distribution was ongoing in the Kherson hromada where 15,388 people were reached in April. Due to increased security concerns, vouchers are being released in a staggered manner to avoid overcrowding at shops. Prioritized for unemployed people, single mothers, large families with more than four people, and persons with disabilities, each individual under the value voucher programme receives 6 vouchers to cover the needs of a 2-month period. Each voucher is worth 500 UAH (USD 13.50).

Vouchers were sent over SMS to those with working mobile phones, but also printed for people with difficulties in using phones. Distributions have been extended to cover additional populations.

Source: WFP

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Following their evacuation from Donetska to Zhytomyrska oblast, 132 internally displaced people (IDPs) were supported by UNHCR partners, Rokada and Right to Protection, with essential items and protection-related services, such as psychosocial support and counselling to address their most urgent needs.

UNHCR, together with partner CrimeaSOS, will support 12 grassroot projects in Kyivska,Zhytomyrska, and Chernihivska oblasts with grants of USD 1,200 to assist IDPs and war-affected communities, or to build civil society organizations capacities.

UNHCR contributed 1,000 solar lamps and tarpaulin sheets to an interagency convoy that delivered aid to a frontline village in Kharkivska oblast

During the past week, UNHCR’s partner Right to Protection (R2P) conducted over 120 monitoring visits to six oblasts, where over 470 IDPs were supported with protection counselling and legal assistance.

UNHCR distributed construction materials to 100 families in Vysokopillia in Khersonska oblast to support with the repair of houses damaged due to hostilities.

Source: UNHCR

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Black Sea Grain deal must be renewed to limit future shock to global food security, says IRC

The looming expiration of the Black Sea grain deal risks further food market instability at a time of record food insecurity, warns the International Rescue Committee (IRC). With 349 million people across 79 countries estimated to experience acute food insecurity this year, the Black Sea grain deal must be extended.  The reasons are compelling:

• The Black Sea Grain Initiative has been a critical step to restarting shipments of Ukrainian and Russian grain, which represents as much as 90% of imports for countries in East Africa going through a food security crisis. 

• As of May 2023, over 29 million tonnes of grain and other foodstuffs have been exported from Ukraine. 

• According to FAO, the severe export shortfall from Ukraine and the Russian Federation, as well as lack of affordable fertilizers will cause a spike in the number of undernourished people close to 19 million in 2023.

The IRC calls for an extension of the Black Sea Grain Initiative and expanding its coverage to more Ukrainian ports. This will help reduce pressure on food prices and limit speculation on grain futures if we ensure food exported through the mechanism reaches the countries most in need – in East Africa and elsewhere.

The extension of the Black Sea Grain Deal is critical for the Ukrainian farmers, too, as they are still facing difficulties selling their grain due to disruptions in logistics chains, and blockage of seaports. Some Ukrainians the IRC spoke to admit that while they are striving to cultivate their lands despite active hostilities, storing food in some regions has become extremely difficult due the disruptive impact of the war on the power supply. Limited access, logistical challenges and increased transportation costs are also resulting in crops being thrown away. 

Shashwat Saraf, East Africa Emergency Director at the IRC said, “Shortages of food in the system and lack of affordable fertilizer continues to push up prices, making it difficult for families in countries like Somalia to predict if they will be able to afford a meal the next day. Agricultural production is in decline - farmers in Ukraine are struggling to keep their harvests alive amidst active shelling, while climate change is killing crops in other parts of the world that need them most.

He stressed that “any shock to the markets can cause massive harm with catastrophic ripple effects in countries balancing on the brink of famine”. The expiration of the Black Sea Grain Initiative is likely to trigger increased levels of hunger and malnutrition, spelling further disaster for East Africa. Constructive extension of the grain deal means bringing in more food into the global system and as a result, helping to lower soaring costs and to maintain market stability. Supply chains must be opened and uninterrupted to ensure grain can get to the countries that need it most.

“The UN has been instrumental in procuring and shipping grain from Ukraine. Aid organizations like the IRC have been working tirelessly to alleviate hunger and malnutrition in different parts of the globe to stave off further loss of life due to hunger, and the expiration of the Black Sea Grain Initiative will most certainly impede our efforts. To this end, it is crucial the international community unequivocally stands behind maintaining Ukraine’s grain exports.”

Source: Black Sea grain deal must be renewed to limit future shock to global food security, says IRC

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UN Secretary General announces Russian agreement to continue Grain Initiative

In a brief statement, Secretary General Guterres announced that the Russia Federation confirmed they will continue to participate in the Black Sea Grain Initiative.  Outstanding issues remain, but Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the UN will continue their talks to find solutions.  He is hopeful they will reach an agreement to continue, improve and expand the initiative

He noted that 30 million tons of grain have been exported to feed hungry people in Sudan.  Due to this agreement, volatility has been reduced and food prices have gone down by 20%.

 Looking ahead, it is hoped that exports of food and fertilizers, including ammonia, from the Russian Federation and Ukraine will be able to reach global supply chains safely and predictably – as foreseen in both the Black Sea Initiative and the Memorandum of Understanding on Russian food and fertilizer exports – the implementation of which the United Nations is fully committed to support.

Source: United Nations

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Ukrainian Energy During the War and Between the Winter (essay)

The Kennan Institute of the Wilson Center in Washington DC released an analytical opinion essay on the energy sector of Ukraine, in the light of the heavy damage the sector has experienced in the past year.  The highlights are summarized.

Clearly, the attacks on the energy infrastructure were prepared as an option even before the invasion. These attacks were planned by the Russian army, together with Russian energy engineers. In 2021, when the Ukrainian power system still was synchronized with the Russian and Belarusian system, Russian engineers tried to retrieve data about all power facilities, with exact GPS coordinates.

But despite hundreds of missiles and drones attacking the power system, it survived. And since February, solar power plants have started producing much more electricity, because of sunny weather. This has resulted in a surplus of electricity and no customer power cutoffs. As some generation and transmission facilities were repaired and renewables produced even more electricity, Ukraine resumed the export of electricity, starting April 11.

For now, the Russian strategy of attacks on the energy facilities failed, despite the huge losses incurred by the power system. On the one hand, the Kremlin expected these attacks to cut off the power supply completely, affecting the economy and the war. On the other hand, Russians anticipated that these cuts would make Ukrainians demand that the war stop, along with air strikes on their power infrastructure.

Attacks on the energy infrastructure were accompanied by false-information operations, primarily carried out on social media. For example, internet bots spread false reports, suggesting that the nationwide power cutoffs were unrelated to infrastructure damage and that electricity was being exported to Europe, making it seem as though the Ukrainian government wanted to increase exports and profits at the expense of domestic consumption.

Several factors played a crucial role in saving the power supply during the winter and helping the system recover quickly. 

• The actions of the Ukrainian army and new foreign supplies of air defense systems reduced the efficiency of Russian attacks. 

• The dedicated work of energy companies and their personnel, repairing facilities day and night despite the risk of new attacks, was important, even as dozens of workers were killed by air strikes. Engineers responsible for the management of the power system made it less vulnerable to attacks and decreased the risk of blackout due to a system crash.

• Ukraine’s power system had a surplus of capacity, which helped it to survive when it was attacked. And, as energy demand fell as a result of attacks, this surplus meant that Russians had to destroy more to affect the supply. 

• Finally, renewables also played an important role in saving the power supply during the attacks. In some cases, these were the only sources of power when the country experienced massive cutoffs after the attacks. Warm weather contributed to a smaller power demand and decreased the risk of freezing, for people and water supply systems.

Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities continue, however, causing new damage and supply interruptions. A huge share of capacity is damaged, and not all will be repaired by next winter. Energy companies lack money for repairs, and, despite international technical aid, they lack equipment and spare parts.

This makes the prospect of surviving the next winter daunting. A power deficit may be in place, and potential air attacks may make the situation more difficult. Liberating territories may improve the situation, even if the war has not ended. These territories include occupied southern Ukraine, where huge power generating capacities are located—the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, thermal power plants, and a majority of Ukrainian wind power, for example.

Ukrainian energy companies still have a lot to prepare for to be ready for next winter. The government must create favorable conditions for these preparations. International parties must support the process with financial and technical aid as well as with military equipment to help protect the power system and liberate Ukraine’s territories.