The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
1000 days into Ukraine war, winter poses a critical challenge, says top aid official
In the nearly 1,000 days since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, thousands of civilians have been killed, the country’s energy capacity is on the brink and drones terrify communities on the front line, the UN’s top aid official in the country said on Friday.
Speaking in Geneva, Matthias Schmale described the anguish felt by Ukrainians as the war grinds on: “As we are not only approaching winter but also the sad 1,000-day mark since the Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion in 2022, we are of course thinking of the more than 12,000 people have been killed…To date, civilian infrastructure has been decimated with over 2,000 attacks now on healthcare facilities and two million damaged homes.”
Almost four in 10 people in Ukraine need humanitarian assistance but one of the most pressing concerns is for people living in high-rise buildings who face their third consecutive freezing winter, because of “systematic attacks” on energy infrastructure.
Living without heating
“I am told that by now, 65 per cent of Ukraine's own energy production capacity has been destroyed,” Mr. Schmale said. Where possible, UN aid teams and partners deliver solid fuel and warm clothing to vulnerable communities, but the situation is more precarious for the “huge number” of people living in blocks of flat. “You can evidently not deliver a ton of solid fuel to a high-rise building,” Mr. Schmale explained, adding that collective shelters in cities and towns that provide warm meals, a shower and a hot drink were welcome, but “not enough”.
One of the veteran humanitarian’s biggest concerns is if the Russian forces target the energy sector again, as the weather turns bitterly cold.
Mass displacement threat looms
“It could be a tipping point forcing further mass displacement both inside the country and outside the country,” Mr. Schmale warned. “So, this is not just about technical solutions, it’s about urging the international community to do its bit to stop this war.”
To date, the UN, national and international NGOs and volunteer organizations have reached 7.2 million people in Ukraine with at least one type of aid, thanks to the $1.8 billion received for the humanitarian response.
To prepare for winter and address the emergency needs of 1.8 million people until March by delivering solid fuel, ensuring water systems continue to work and by providing cash relief, the UN and partners require $500 million. But the situation is dangerous on the front line for communities and aid workers, nine of whom have been killed in the line of duty this year. Humanitarian facilities have also been damaged.
Drone terror
“Many people have told me on my visits that they feel civilians and civilian infrastructure and civil society are increasingly targeted by drone attacks; and drone attacks are terrible, I don’t need to describe that to you,” Mr. Schmale said, citing the testimonies of people describing being followed by drones. “Some of this is also psychological terror, because…you never quite know, will they strike or are they just observing?”
Asked to assess how the new US administration might work to alleviate suffering in Ukraine, the UN aid coordinator highlighted the Secretary-General’s wish that the “significant” humanitarian support of the United States would continue. “They have been by far our biggest individual country supporter,” Mr. Schmale said. “The hope is that they understand like the present administration that there are huge humanitarian needs that need to continue to be addressed.”
Ukraine 1000 days of war - OCHA
TRT: 03 min 35s
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 15 NOVEMBER 2024 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
Speaker:
- Matthias Schmale, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine
SHOTLIST
- Exterior medium: UN Geneva flag alley.
- Wide, UN Geneva Press room.
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Matthias Schmale, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine: “As we are not only approaching winter but also the sad 1,000-day mark since the Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion in 2022, we of course are thinking of the more than 12,000 people have been killed and almost 40 per cent of the people in Ukraine that are in need of humanitarian assistance.”
- Medium-wide, Press room, journalists, TV cameras.
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Matthias Schmale, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine: “Civilian infrastructure has been decimated with over 2,000 attacks now on healthcare facilities and two million damaged homes.”
- Medium-wide, podium speakers, TV screens showing podium speakers and journalists.
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Matthias Schmale, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine: “A particular worry as I’m sure you’re aware is the systematic attacks on the energy infrastructure. I am told that by now, 65 per cent of Ukraine's own energy production capacity has been destroyed. And so, as we approach winter, we are of course particularly worried about this. We are trying to help people with, for example, solid fuel.”
- Medium, podium speakers, TV screen showing a speaker.
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Matthias Schmale, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine: “A lot of rebuilding has been done but not enough and the real concern is if they were to target the energy sector again it could be a tipping point forcing further mass displacement both inside the country and outside the country. So this is not just about technical solutions, it’s about urging the international community to do its bit to stop this war.”
- Medium, journalists in the Press room.
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Matthias Schmale, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine: “The work on the front line is dangerous; what we are observing and again many people have told me on my visits that they feel civilians and civilian infrastructure and civil society are increasingly targeted by drone attacks; and drone attacks are terrible, I don’t need to describe that to you.”
- Medium-wide, journalists.
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Matthias Schmale, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine: “Our hope obviously is and I think the UN leadership starting with the Secretary-General has expressed this clearly, that the significant support – the humanitarian support - of the United States will continue. They have been by far our biggest individual country supporter. At a country level we have excellent relationships with the embassy there and with officials including from USAID. So I can only hope and I think too early and not my place to speculate on what the new administration will do in humanitarian terms. The hope is that they understand like the present administration that there are huge humanitarian needs that need to continue to be addressed.”
- Medium-wide, TV journalists, control booths, UN logo reflected in glass.
- Medium-wide, journalists, Press room.
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF , IFRC
Six weeks after Nepal’s deadly flooding disaster, communities are still struggling to rebuild their lives, but they will need sustained help as global warming increases the risk of another Himalayan catastrophe, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
In suspected Russia plague death, testing and monitoring underway – WHO
The death of a lab worker in Russia’s Siberia region has sparked concerns about plague being the cause, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday, adding that it was following the situation closely.
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Friday provided and oral update to the 63rd session of the Human rights Council on Ukraine.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Friday provided and oral update to the 63rd session of the Human rights Council on the human rights situation in Haiti.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
Repeated delays in bringing lifesaving medicines, prosthetics and more from Israel into Gaza risk having devastating consequences on Palestinians who urgently need them in the wartorn enclave, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday. “A truck full of non-priority supplies or the right supplies arriving too late, doesn't save lives. That's the question that actually matters," said Dr Reinhilde Van De Weerdt, WHO Representative in the OPT.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
DRC: Early access to care and oxygen decisive for Ebola patients’ survival – WHO
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), health workers fighting the country’s largest-ever Ebola outbreak are struggling to overcome critical challenges to patient care, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UN
Civilians in Iran are continuing to feel the consequences of months of conflict and military escalation, the UN’s top official in the country has said, as loss of life, damage to civilian infrastructure and mounting economic pressures leave many facing continued uncertainty.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO , UNICEF
Aid agencies in Yemen highlighted the growing hunger emergency sparked by renewed fighting between Houthi opposition forces and Government troops, after mobile health clinics reported that hundreds of children displaced by the violence are suffering from the most deadly form of malnutrition.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNHCR
Displacement on the rise in Yemen as fighting continues - UNHCR
As hostilities worsen in Yemen, more people have been fleeing their homes, further intensifying the humanitarian crisis within the region, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | IOM , OHCHR , UNFPA , UNOG , UNHCR , WHO
Yemen’s humanitarian crisis growing by the hour amid spike in displacement
Yemenis displaced by renewed fighting have described fleeing for their lives amid shelling and gunfire, aid agencies reported on Friday, while highlighting the dramatic increase in humanitarian needs in the country and in Djibouti, where thousands have sought shelter.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The UN Human Rights Office issued on Friday a report documenting a shocking pattern of sexual violence amid Russia’s full-scale armed attack on Ukraine.
2
1
2
Edited News , Press Conferences | WMO
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”.
ends