UN warns of worsening humanitarian crisis in Ukraine as winter approaches

The UN on Friday warned that repeated attacks on civilian areas and critical infrastructure in Ukraine are deepening the humanitarian crisis ahead of winter.

Gemma Connell, director of the Crisis Response Division at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), urged Russia and Ukraine to protect civilians, facilitate aid deliveries, and ensure safe evacuations for people trapped in frontline and occupied areas.

Connell delivered a briefing to the Security Council on behalf of Tom Fletcher, the UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator.

“The past 48 hours have brought more death and destruction across Ukraine,” said Connell, describing attacks on residential neighborhoods, public transport, and essential civilian infrastructure in multiple regions.

Repeated attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure have brought back scheduled and emergency power cuts, including in Kyiv, according to Connell.

“Winter preparedness cannot wait for winter,” she told the council.

The UN’s $358 million Winter Response Plan aims to assist more than 2 million of Ukraine’s most vulnerable people with heating, shelter, food, healthcare, cash, and other essential support.

Connell said funding must arrive in time for aid agencies to position supplies, repair homes and heating systems, and help communities prepare for freezing temperatures.

She stressed, however, that humanitarian assistance alone cannot compensate for continued destruction of civilian infrastructure.

“Ultimately, no amount of preparedness can substitute for protecting the infrastructure civilians depend on in the first place,” she said.

Connell outlined three immediate priorities for the parties to the conflict: they must protect civilians and the infrastructure on which civilian life depends, in line with international humanitarian law; agree on practical arrangements to ensure humanitarian aid reaches civilians wherever they are and to enable safe and voluntary evacuations when needed; and humanitarian personnel must be protected, with credible investigations and accountability when incidents occur, she said.