The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Edited News | OCHA , UNHCR
Bi-Weekly Press Briefing: Ukraine - Increased Humanitarian Needs - OCHA - UNHCR - IFRC
With more than 50 per cent of Ukraine’s capital Kyiv and the majority of Ukraine’s oblasts being without electricity while winter sets in, the humanitarian needs for the population are rising by the day.
“Ukraine is turning increasingly cold without power, without steady water supply and without heating”, said Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) when speaking to journalists at a press briefing at the United Nations in Geneva. Mr. Laerke added that “we and our partners are supporting the authorities with generators to critical facilities such as hospitals and schools. Nearly 400 generators have already been delivered by UN agencies and thousands more are in the pipeline.”
OCHA’s spokesperson stressed that according to international humanitarian law, critical infrastructure must be protected from harm.
“Yesterday, we had reports that 15 out of Ukraine’s 24 oblasts faced electricity outages and water cuts”, Jens Laerke said. “The day before, on Wednesday, our colleagues in Ukraine could report that a wave of attacks on the energy infrastructure had left millions of people across the country without electricity. Some regions, including Lviv in the West, Zaporizhzhia and Odesa in the South and Chernihiv in the north, were completely disconnected from electricity and many are still working to restore it.”
According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the current displacement situation is worsening with 7.8 million Ukrainian refugees across Europe, and 6,5 million internally displaced people (IDP).
“The situation inside the country continues to deteriorate, and millions of Ukrainians are living in the country and damaged homes or in buildings that are ill-suited to protect them from the biting cold with disrupted energy, heating and water supplies and lost livelihoods”, said UNHCR’s spokesperson Shabia Mantoo. “UNHCR and partners are prepared for a range of possible scenarios and we're in constant dialogue with the relevant authorities in Ukraine and in neighboring countries. Possible scenarios include an increase in displacement within the country as well as in the number of people leaving the Ukraine.”
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has been helping the population to face the winter and procure winterization items. 30 trucks have entered the country with food parcels, heating supplies and generators. IFRC expects that more people will need support over the next few months. A host family programme had been established to provide housing, heating and electricity to half a million Ukrainians.
“We have a new wave of humanitarian needs”, said Violaine Des Rosiers, IFRC's Operations Manager, speaking from Kyiv. «Of course, we have been preparing for this since the summertime, but now we are seeing an increase because of the attacks that are happening on the infrastructure in the West part of the country as well.”
These increased attacks are having now also an impact on the health care infrastructure, according to IFRC’s Operations Manager.
“A lot of the medical facilities were referring patients to the West part of the country, but now with the power cuts across the country, we are seeing also more people having to wait for receiving medical care.”
In order to better support the health system, the IFRC has also scaled up its response providing infrastructure support and generators to medical centres.
“We are now at 75 mobile health units which are like ambulances or transporters that are going into the remote villages to reach out to the population that are completely cut off”, said Violaine Des Rosiers.
According to the latest verified numbers by the World Health Organisation (WHO) dating from 11 November, there had been so far 715 attacks on Ukrainian health care, killing 100 people and injuring 129 ones. Of these attacks, 626 had directly impacted health facilities.
-ends-
STORY: Ukraine Increased Humanitarian Needs - OCHA/UNHCR/IFRC
TRT: 2 mins 54s
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH/NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 25 November 2022 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
- Medium shot, UN Geneva flag alley.
- Wide shot, press room with panel of speakers.
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH), OCHA spokesperson, Jens Laerke: “Ukraine is turning increasingly cold without power, without steady water supply and without heating. We and our partners are supporting the authorities with generators to critical facilities such as hospitals and schools. Nearly 400 generators have already been delivered by UN agencies and thousands more are in the pipeline.”
- Medium shot, Jens Laerke speaking.
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH), OCHA spokesperson, Jens Laerke: “Yesterday, we had reports that 15 out of Ukraine’s 24 oblasts faced electricity outages and water cuts. The day before, on Wednesday, our colleagues in Ukraine could report that a wave of attacks on the energy infrastructure had left millions of people across the country without electricity. Some regions, including Lviv in the West, Zaporizhzhia and Odesa in the South and Chernihiv in the north, were completely disconnected from electricity and many are still working to restore it.”
- Medium shot, screen showing speakers.
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH), UNHCR spokesperson, Shabia Mantoo: “The situation inside the country continues to deteriorate, and millions of Ukrainians are living in the country and damaged homes or in buildings that are ill-suited to protect them from the biting cold with disrupted energy, heating and water supplies and lost livelihoods. So, UNHCR and partners are prepared for a range of possible scenarios and we're in constant dialogue with the relevant authorities in Ukraine and in neighboring countries. Possible scenarios include an increase in displacement within the country as well as in the number of people leaving the Ukraine.”
- Medium shot, screen showing speaker.
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH), IFRC Operations Manager in Ukraine, Violaine Des Rosiers: “We have a new wave of humanitarian needs. Of course, we have been preparing for this since the summertime, but now we are seeing an increase because of the attacks that are happening on the infrastructure in the West part of the country as well.”
- Close-up, staff monitoring.
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH), IFRC Operations Manager in Ukrain, Violaine Des Rosiers: “A lot of the medical facilities were referring patients to the West part of the country, but now with the power cuts across the country, we are seeing also more people having to wait for receiving medical care.”
- Medium shot, UNWOMEN taking notes with phone.
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH), IFRC Operations Manager in Ukrain, Violaine Des Rosiers: “We are now at 75 mobile health units which are like ambulances or transporters that are going into the remote villages to reach out to the population that are completely cut off.”
- Medium shot, screen showing speakers.
- Close-up, hands of journalists taking notes.
- Medium shot, journalists taking notes with speaker.
Similar Stories
1
1
Edited News | WHO , UNMAS
Desperate and dangerous conditions in Gaza continue to hamper recovery efforts for the wartorn enclave's people, the UN health agency said on Friday, while demining experts warned that they’ve “barely scratched the surface” in assessing the level of contamination of unexploded ordnance.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News
The continued support of UN Member States to Lebanon will be “indispensable” to boost the country’s national armed forces and provide humanitarian assistance with more than one million people still uprooted by the Middle East war, the UN's peacekeeping chief said on Wednesday.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | UNECE
Middle East war: After oil and gas shortages, concerns grow over critical minerals crunch
The shipping crisis in the Strait of Hormuz caused by war in the Middle East has exposed a new threat: a looming shortage of strategic minerals needed to drive economies all over the world and a race by countries to obtain them.
1
1
1
Edited News | IOM
Millions of desperate Sudanese return home amid dire conditions as war rages – IOM
Three years into the devastating conflict in Sudan, nearly four million displaced people have returned to their places of origin across the country, only to face “another struggle for survival”, the UN International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNESCO
UNESCO protects cultural sites in war-torn Middle East, confirming damage to key heritage.
1
1
1
Edited News | UN WOMEN
The war in Gaza has inflicted a far higher toll on women and girls than in previous conflicts in the Palestinian enclave, with more than 38,000 killed by Israeli air bombardment and land military operations since Hamas-led terror attacks in Israel sparked the war in October 2023, UN Women said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNHCR
In 2025, nearly 900 Rohingya refugees were reported missing or dead in the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal, making it the deadliest year on record in South and Southeast Asia, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNFPA , IFRC
Lebanon faces escalating violence, with new mothers uncertain of safety amid ongoing crises.
1
1
1
Edited News | FAO , UNHCR , WHO
Sudan: 14 million displaced; hunger and attacks on health continue as war enters fourth year
As Sudan approaches the third anniversary of a brutal civil war, millions remain displaced and hungry while the health system lies in ruins, with no end to the violence in sight, UN agencies said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO , UNHCR , WFP
Lebanon: People ‘still under the rubble’ after massive strikes as ambulances, hospitals come under threat – UN humanitarians
With Lebanon still reeling from Israel’s devastating airstrikes on 8 April, UN humanitarians reported new fears of attacks on ambulances and looming food shortages in the south of the country on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNHCR , WHO
Lebanon: disease risks on the rise as displacement surges
With displacement in Lebanon past the one million mark, UN humanitarians warned on Tuesday about the spread of infectious diseases in shelters and surging mental health needs.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNIFIL
UN peacekeepers are supporting civilians who’ve chosen to stay in the south amid deadly dangers from Israel-Hezbollah clashes, UNIFIL spokesperson Kandace Ardiel tells us.