People in Need delivers aid to eastern Ukraine where people are suffering from the fiercest fighting
Published: Apr 20, 2022 Reading time: 4 minutes
The Russian invasion of Ukraine is now focused on the eastern part of the country. Here, people are now facing the fiercest fighting. Luhansk, Donetsk, and Kharkiv Oblasts are the most affected, and the humanitarian situation of hundreds of thousands of people continue to deteriorate. The Office for the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR) reports that nearly 45% of all corroborated casualties in Ukraine were recorded in Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts.
More than seven weeks of intense fighting in Ukraine have devastated gas, water, and electricity networks, leaving 1.4 million people without access to safe water in the east of the country, according to UNICEF. Over 6 million people in Ukraine are struggling every day to access drinking water, one of the most essential human needs.
According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), as of 12 April, almost 96,000 people in 30 settlements across the eastern oblasts were without electricity, while water supplies had been completely cut off in Popasna, Rubizhne and Sievierodonetsk. Since the start of the war, at least 20 separate incidents of damage to water infrastructure have been recorded in eastern Ukraine alone, the UN reports.
"In places like Sieverodonetsk or Izium, people’s homes are repeatedly hit by shelling. Constant hostilities are preventing people from evacuating safely or at least to secure basic food and hygiene items. Many people stay in their homes and basements," says Petr Drbohlav, Regional Director for the Eastern Partnership and the Balkans.
99% of older people have no plans to leave
Older residents are particularly vulnerable. Many times they are ignored and left to survive alone. Even before the Russian invasion, one-third of Ukrainians trapped by the on-going conflict in eastern Ukraine and requiring assistance were over 60, making this the world’s "oldest" humanitarian crisis.
A survey at the beginning of March, conducted by HelpAge International—PIN’s long-term partner in Ukraine—found that 99% of older people in Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts had no plans to leave. For many, mobility difficulties mean leaving is impossible, many do not have family nearby to help, and most cannot even reach and access local shelters.
HelpAge notes that older people often remain at home in times of ongoing fighting because they often do not want to be a burden, they want to protect their homes, or because they have already moved many times before. "The biggest worries are that with more fighting, more elderly will be left behind, isolated and in urgent need of food, water and health and mental health support," says Petr Drbohlav.
People in Need aid has reached central and eastern Ukraine
PIN continues to support people in eastern Ukraine, as we have constantly done since 2014. Most of the humanitarian aid is delivered by trains from the Czech Republic to Dnipro. The aid continues further east by trucks or vans, sometimes within convoys organized by the United Nations. Local partners such as Right to Protection, the Ukrainian Red Cross Society, and others distribute it to the most vulnerable people.
In the past week alone, People in Need delivered two trucks full of humanitarian aid to Zaporizhzhia, a further two to Donetsk Oblast, two to Kharkiv, and two trucks reached Sumska Oblast. Additionally, three trucks filled with five-litre water bottles for Mykolaiv to cover the drinking water needs for 6930 people. Additionally, hygiene items and food reached Luhansk Oblast. We also continued distributions of cash assistance. Some trains with humanitarian aid also reached Kyiv. “Humanitarian aid from these trains reached through our partner organization Bucha, Irpin or Chernihiv, places that were besieged for long weeks,” notes Petr Drbohlav.
30,000 Ukrainians are returning to the country every day
According to the United Nations, 12 million people in Ukraine require humanitarian aid. The number of people displaced by the ongoing fighting has surpassed the 12 million mark: over 4.9 million people have crossed international borders, and at least 7.1 million have been displaced internally since 24 February. A significant number of people are also returning to Ukraine. According to the United Nations, 30,000 Ukrainians are returning every single day. Altogether over 870,000 people have already returned to Ukraine since the invasion.
People in Need’s assistance to people in Ukraine is possible thanks to donations from the public and private sectors to the PIN Ukraine Emergency Appeal, financial contributions from Alliance2015, CARE, Stichting Vluchteling, King Baudouin Foundation and partnership with the European Union, Ukraine Humanitarian Fund, USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic or World Food Programme.
