The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Almost no humanitarian aid is entering the non-government-controlled areas in Ukraine due to Covid-19 lockdown measures
Since the third week in March practically no humanitarian aid has reached eastern Ukraine beyond the “contact line” that separates the government-controlled and non-government-controlled areas of the country.
During a virtual press conference at the UN in Geneva, Jens Laerke, Spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that “this closure of the ‘contact line’ has limited the ability to organize humanitarian convoys into non-government-controlled areas and only two UN organized convoys delivering Covid-19 related supplies have crossed into Donetsk since the beginning of the Covid crisis”.
Laerke added that “some humanitarian exemptions have been made for crossings both ways. 325 people were granted such exemptions between the 21 March and the end of April. But that – as I mentioned – is compared to 900,000 crossings normally every month”.
In 2014 Russia annexed Ukraine's southern Crimea peninsula and a full-scale conflict between Government forces and separatists took place in the country’s east. The current measures introduced by the Ukrainian government and the Russia-backed separatists to control the coronavirus have exacerbated the humanitarian situation near the contact line in eastern Ukraine.
About half a million Ukrainian pensioners from territories regularly crossed the contact line into government-controlled areas. All of them received a state pension.
OCHA’s Jens Laerke explained that “Ukraine, as you know, is a humanitarian situation with a particular caseload of elderly people who are very vulnerable because they cannot access their pensions or family support on the government-controlled side of the contact line”.
The Government of Ukraine and the de facto authorities in Luhansk and the have recently approved deliveries of health supplies into Luhansk through one entry point, called “Stanytsia Luhanska”. However, humanitarian aid must be delivered on foot as the passage of trucks is not allowed.
OCHA’s spokesperson said that “across Ukraine, there are 15,648 confirmed cases, there are some 408 deaths as of yesterday”. He added that “in Luhansk, the non-government-controlled area, there are 232 confirmed cases and in Donetsk, again the non-government-controlled area, there is 184, a total of 416 confirmed cases in the non-governmental controlled parts of eastern Ukraine”.
Humanitarian agencies continue their operations on both sides of the contact line with existing stockpiles, targeting a total of some 2 million people.
- Wide shot: exterior, United Nations Geneva, main entrance with UN flag and building in background.
- SOUNDBITE (EN) Jens Laerke, Spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA): “This closure of the contact line has limited the ability to organize humanitarian convoys into non-government-controlled areas and only two UN organized convoys delivering Covid-19 related supplies have crossed into Donetsk since the beginning of the Covid crisis”.
- Medium shot: UN Geneva and UN flag alley behind gates at UN Geneva, filmed from the Place des Nations. A motorcyclist passes from left to right.
- SOUNDBITE (EN) Jens Laerke, Spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA): “Some humanitarian exemptions have been made for crossings both ways. 325 people were granted such exemptions between the 21 March and the end of April. But that – as I mentioned – is compared to 900,000 crossings normally every month”.
- Wide shot: flag alley, UN Geneva.
- SOUNDBITE (EN) Jens Laerke, Spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA): “Ukraine, as you know, is a humanitarian situation with a particular caseload of elderly people who are very vulnerable because they cannot access their pensions or family support on the government-controlled side of the contact line”.
- Medium shot: UN Geneva flag alley, with UN flag in background.
- SOUNDBITE (EN) Jens Laerke, Spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA): “Across Ukraine, there are 15,648 confirmed cases, there are some 408 deaths as of yesterday”.
- Close up: UN Geneva building.
- SOUNDBITE (EN) Jens Laerke, Spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA): “In Luhansk, the non-government-controlled area, there are 232 confirmed cases and in Donetsk, again the non-government-controlled area, there is 184, a total of 416 confirmed cases in the non-governmental controlled parts of eastern Ukraine”.
- Medium shot, UN palais building with UN flag
Similar Stories
1
1
Edited News | UNMAS
The deadly legacy of conflicts old and new from Gaza to Sudan and beyond continues to kill and maim civilians on a near-daily basis, mine action workers said on Wednesday, as they appealed for greater support for their lifesaving work in a context of deep funding cuts.
1
1
1
Edited News | WMO , UNICEF
Asia: Lives upended in cyclone disasters, ‘extreme’ rainfall on the rise - UN agencies
Across southeast Asia, record-breaking rains and flooding caused by back-to-back tropical storms have claimed hundreds of lives and brought devastation and displacement upon entire communities, UN agencies said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
At the bi-weekly press briefing in the Geneva on Friday the UN Human Rights Office raised grave concerns about the recent constitutional amendments adopted in Pakistan.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
At the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva, UN Human Rights Spokesperson made the following comment on the most recent killings in the occupied West Bank yesterday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
At the bi-weekly press briefing in the Geneva on Friday the UN Human Rights Office raised concerns about the military-controlled election in Myanmar, which starts next month and will be conducted in an atmosphere rife with threats and violence putting the lives of civilians at risk.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | UNAIDS
World AIDS Day 2025: Overcoming disruption, transforming the AIDS response
1
1
1
Edited News | UN WOMEN
Gaza women are ‘last line of protection’ for their families amid attacks, hunger and harsh winter – UN Women
Women in Gaza are ensuring their families’ survival “with nothing but courage and exhausted hands” while violence continues and essentials remain in short supply, the UN’s gender equality agency warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
Since the ceasefire began on 27 November 2024, Israeli military strikes in Lebanon have killed at least 127 civilians. Nearly a year later, these attacks continue to increase, causing civilian deaths and damage to civilian structures.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | UNCTAD
A new report by UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) finds that the prolonged military operation and long-standing restrictions have driven the economy of the Occupied Palestinian Territory into its most severe contraction on record, wiping out decades of development gains and deepening fiscal and social fragility.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF , WHO , WFP
Ongoing attacks and airstrikes attributed to Israeli forces in Gaza continue to kill and maim people of all ages in the shattered enclave despite an agreed ceasefire, UN agencies said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF , OCHA
Gaza: After Security Council vote humanitarians urge aid scale-up as winter rains hit families hard
Following the UN Security Council’s Monday endorsement of a US peace plan for Gaza, UN humanitarians urged prioritizing aid access under the scheme as severe rains and flooding deepened Palestinian suffering.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNHCR , UNMAS , WHO
Just how many people are still trapped in the Sudanese city of El Fasher?
That’s the burning question for relatives of the many thousands of people believed to still be there, since paramilitary fighters overran the regional capital of North Darfur last month, after a 500-day siege.