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Edited News | OHCHR , UNICEF , UNHCR , WHO
Ukraine Update OHCHR – UNHCR – UNICEF – WHO 25 February 2022
Ukraine crisis: terrified families seek shelter underground in capital, needs rise
Amid reported deadly missile attacks linked to Russia’s so-called “special military operation” in Ukraine, including the capital Kiev and other cities, terrified families have been forced to seek shelter underground, the UN said on Friday, adding that at least 100,000 have been likely displaced by the violence.
“There have been major attacks in Kiev that have created greater fear and panic among the population, with families really scared, moving alongside their children into subways and shelters, and this is clearly a terrifying moment for children across the country,” said Afshan Khan, UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Regional Director, Europe and Central Asia, speaking in Geneva.
The development follows renewed condemnation for the Russian move by UN Secretary-General António Guterres, who on Thursday appealed for peace and allocated $20 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund to meet urgent needs.
The use of force by one country against another is “the repudiation of the principles that every country has committed to uphold”, which applied to the military offensive in Ukraine, Mr. Guterres insisted. “It is wrong. It is against the Charter. It is unacceptable. But it is not irreversible.”
Two days since Russia launched military operations inside Ukraine, the UN rights office, OHCHR, confirmed that well over 100 civilians have already been killed and injured.
“We’ve received reports of at least 127 civilian casualties; this includes 25 killed and 102 injured in Ukraine, caused by shelling and airstrikes…this is very likely to be an underestimate,” said Ravina Shamdasani, OHCHR spokesperson.
Communities are already in need of aid relief, too, UN humanitarians warned.
“When we look at shortages, we’re talking about fuel which has been well reported in the media, we’re talking about cash, because often in humanitarian situations, cash assistance would be our first support to families, so obviously there’s been a drawdown on banks,” said UNICEF’s Ms. Khan.
Echoing that message and in an appeal for guaranteed humanitarian access to the most vulnerable individuals, the World Health Organization (WHO) highlighted concerns that medical teams could be overwhelmed by the number of people injured.
“We don’t have reports yet from the hospitals when we look to particular injuries and the details of medical,” said Dr Jarno Habicht, WHO Representative in Ukraine. “But what is important and where our focus has been now, is that the prepositioned medical kits, we will run out of them soon; so what is important currently and our discussion with the authorities and all the partners is how to ensure new supplies to come and ensure that also there are humanitarian corridors from the neighbouring countries available.”
UN agencies have been active in Ukraine for many years, in particular since Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, a move in large part rejected by the international community. Immediate priorities include assessing what already vulnerable communities need in eastern regions of Donetsk, Luhansk and other oblasts.
“We are still trying to monitor what the situation is vis-à-vis civilian infrastructure,” said UNICEF’s Ms. Khan. “As you know, there has been hits of critical infrastructure in the east, particularly in Donbass for some years and they have been cut off, hence the UNICEF water trucking (operations). In the current scenario we are still trying to see which civilian infrastructure has been hit (and) where.”
The expected forced mass displacement of families has also begun, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) confirmed.
“There are more than 100,000 who we estimate have lost their homes and are displaced inside country and we are also aware of several thousand who have crossed international borders in the region, and we’ve seen those really just happening since the onset of the situation,” said spokesperson Shabia Mantoo.
“We’re seeing these reports and we’ve seen for instance yesterday that there were about 5,000 refugee arrivals in Moldova already, but the other movements are being reported in Poland, Romania, Slovakia and the Russian Federation.”
While the UN rights office warned that Ukraine’s people were “terrified of further escalation”, spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani underscored concerns inside Russia, over the alleged mistreatment of protesters.
“Reportedly more than 1,800 were arrested (in Russia), because it’s impossible at this point to know to know exactly how many people there were,” Ms. Shamdasani said. “It is unclear whether they some of them have now been released. What we understand is that among those who were arrested were also some journalists, and they were arrested in over 50 cities across Russia.”
ends
STORY: Ukraine Update – OHCHR, UNHCR, UNICEF, WHO
TRT: 3 mins 31s
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 25 February 2022 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
- Exterior wide shot, United Nations Palais des Nations, flag alley.
- Wide shot, UN press room, Palais des Nations.
- SOUNDBITE (English): Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “We’ve received reports of at least 127 civilian casualties; this includes 25 killed and 102 injured in Ukraine, caused by shelling and airstrikes. And as I said, this is very likely to be an underestimate.”
- Medium shot, showing speakers and participants in profile, next to large-screen TV broadcasting the press briefing on Zoom.
- Medium shot, journalists attending the meeting and speakers.
- SOUNDBITE (English): Afshan Khan, Regional Director, Europe and Central Asia, UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF): “When we look at shortages, we’re talking about fuel which has been well reported in the media, we’re talking about cash, because often in humanitarian situations, cash assistance would be our first support to families, so obviously there’s been a drawdown on banks.”
- Wide shot, press conference participants, seated.
- SOUNDBITE (English): Dr Jarno Habicht, World Health Organization (WHO) Representative in Ukraine: “We don’t have reports yet from the hospitals when we look to particular injuries and the details of medical, but what is important and where our focus has been now is that the prepositioned medical kits, we will run out of them soon, so what is important currently and our discussion with the authorities and all the partners is how to ensure new supplies to come and ensure that also there are humanitarian corridors from the neighbouring countries available.”
- Close-up, participants, seated, next to large-screen TV broadcasting the press briefing on Zoom.
- SOUNDBITE (English): Afshan Khan, Regional Director, Europe and Central Asia, UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF): “As we speak, there have been major attacks in Kiev that have created greater fear and panic among the population, with families really scared, moving alongside their children into subways and shelters, and this is clearly a terrifying moment for children across the country.”
- Medium-shot, journalists seated and masked, writing on laptop computers.
- SOUNDBITE (English): Shabia Mantoo, spokesperson, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR): “There are more than 100,000 who we estimate have lost their homes and are displaced inside country and we are also aware of several thousand who have crossed international borders in the region, and we’ve seen those really just happening since the onset of the situation.”
- Wide shot, participants seated, TV camera equipment and teleprompter.
- SOUNDBITE (English): Shabia Mantoo, spokesperson, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR): “We’re seeing these reports and we’ve seen for instance yesterday that there were about 5,000 refugee arrivals in Moldova already, but the other movements are being reported in Poland, Romania, Slovakia and the Russian Federation, and these are the cross-border movements that we are talking about.”
- Close-up, participants, seated, next to large-screen TV broadcasting the press briefing on Zoom.
- SOUNDBITE (English): Afshan Khan, Regional Director, Europe and Central Asia, UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF): “We are still trying to monitor what the situation is vis-à-vis civilian infrastructure. As you know, there has been hits of critical infrastructure in the east, particularly in Donbass for some years and they have been cut off, hence the UNICEF water trucking. In the current scenario we are still trying to see which civilian infrastructure has been hit, where.”
- Wide shot, press conference participants, seated.
- SOUNDBITE (English): Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “Reportedly more than 1,800 were arrested, because it’s impossible at this point to know to know exactly how many people there were. It is unclear whether they some of them have now been released. What we understand is that among those who were arrested were also some journalists, and they were arrested in over 50 cities across Russia.”
- Close shot of journalists’ hands typing on laptop computers.
- Close shot, participant checking mobile phone.
- Close shot, participant in profile wearing UNICEF facemask, nodding, with speaker shown on TV screen to rear.
- Close shot, participant wearing chequered facemask.
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As world’s water reserves change, countries must prepare for a new reality: WMO
New data showing that rivers were at their lowest level for decades last year provides further evidence that the climate crisis is real and countries must act immediately to protect themselves from the increasing threat to communities and livelihoods, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Thursday.
The key findings from WMO’s State of Global Water Resources 2025 report covering the hydrological cycle and extreme events in the five-year period to last year:
- 2025 was one of driest years for river discharge in 35 years
- Past seven years have seen abnorfmal river flows
- Water storage on Earth’s land surface has decreased in past decade
- Widespread glacier loss across all regions for fourth consecutive year
- Asia and Africa are regions most affected by water-related disasters
- Water data availability has improved, but gaps remain in hard-hit areas
Highlighting the long-term decline in the Earth’s freshwater storage and glacier melt, WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo explained that the planet’s water reserves used to act as a planetary “savings account” that absorbed the occasional dry season, avoiding a water crisis. “One of the central stories of the 2025 report is what is happening to that savings account? And the simple answer is that we are depleting it,” she told journalists in Geneva.
Groundwater reserves are equally stretched and have been in decline since 2014, WMO’s report states, with nearly two-thirds of monitored wells worldwide showing levels lower than the historical norm and indicating a shift “further toward deficit…not recovery”.
“At the same time, we are seeing more water-related disasters,” Ms. Saulo said, while also stressing that the currently strengthening El Niño “will increase the risk of drought in some areas, and flooding in others”.
Glaciers disappearing
In 2025, for the fourth consecutive year, every major glaciated region on Earth lost ice mass, leading to short-term hazards including floods and long-term water insecurity, according to WMO.
Responding to a question about whether the changing global water cycle might have contributed to the deadly Nepal-China flooding disaster, Ms. Saulo explained that melting ice and rock was just one factor in the chain of events that ultimately sent a massive and deadly wall of water and debris downstream on 26 August, killing at least 1,367 people.
“You asked if it could happen again? Absolutely; the problem in this region is that there’s 63,700 glaciers at the last count,” she told a Press Conference in Geneva. “Even if you’re looking with remote sensing with satellites at these glaciers, you might see some faults, you might see some slight shifting, that does not mean necessarily catastrophic collapse. So, in order to plan for this, it’s very, very difficult. But the international community is looking very hard at ways in which we can bring people together to solve some of these monitoring issues.”
Data indicates that glaciers shrank between 2023 and 2025 with cumulative losses of 1,400 gigatonnes of water – or about one third of annual fresh water needs.
Every major glacier region on Earth lost ice for the fourth consecutive year.
“All 19 glacier regions around the globe lost ice; in Central Asia, Iceland, the Russian Arctic and western Canada and the United States, it was among the three worst years on record,” said Wayne Jenkinson, WMO’s Director of Hydrology and Cryosphere.
Some regions with smaller glaciers such as Central Europe, the Caucasus, the western Canada and the United States may already have reached “peak water”, Mr. Jenkinson warned.
“After this point, the glacier gives less meltwater each year simply because there is less ice left to melt. That matters for every community downstream that relies on water during hot, dry summers,” he explained.
Narelle van der Wel, WMO’s Head of Cryosphere Monitoring, Predictions and Services, stressed that while some further glacier loss is unavoidable, the eventual scale of the decline is not predetermined.
“Some glacier loss is inevitable, but total loss of glaciers is not yet inevitable,” she said, pointing to emissions reductions as central to limiting future losses.
Preparing for moving baselines
The report does not attribute every observed change to climate change alone. WMO says pressure on water resources and natural variability also contribute.
Mr. Jenkinson said governments need to prepare for “moving baselines” as historical patterns become less reliable.
“The situation 30 years ago is not where we are today,” he said. Countries, he added, need to prepare “for those changes that have really already arrived”.
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