Ukraine

Situation Report
Analysis
WhatsApp Image 2024-01-24 at 08.34.40 eeaafa93
The building of the National Academy of Legal Sciences hit in Kharkiv by yet another strike. Photo: OCHA/Maka Khazalia

HUMANITARIAN SITUATION OVERVIEW

Heavy and intense bombardments combined with ground fighting continued throughout 2023, resulting in a persistent pattern of civilian death and destruction with serious humanitarian impact. There were more than 47,000 incidents involving armed clashes, airstrikes and other attacks across Ukraine in 2023, an increase of more than 12,000, compared to 2022, according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED). These incidents caused widespread damage and destruction of homes, hospitals, schools and vital civilian infrastructure, including energy, severely impacting the humanitarian situation. Although no part of the country remained unaffected, people in the east and south bore the brunt of the devastation caused by the war.

In front-line communities, including the territories occupied by the Russian Federation, the humanitarian situation is reaching severe and catastrophic levels. More than 3.3 million people – including 800,000 children – living along the front line require emergency assistance. Access to water, food, adequate shelter, fuel to heat their homes and cook, health, protection and other essential services and supplies, as well as employment and livelihoods is extremely limited, forcing people to depend on humanitarian aid to meet their needs.

In 2023, homes, schools and hospitals continued to be bombed every day, with attacks spiking towards the end of the year. The destruction left nearly 720,000 people in the worst-affected parts of Ukraine with no access to adequate and safe housing, according to the International Organization for Migration. In Khersonska Oblast, for example, nearly 30 per cent of people live in damaged buildings. Access to education remained highly constrained, with almost half of all educational institutions damaged or destroyed in Kharkivska and Khersonska oblasts, and a staggering 80 per cent in Donetska Oblast, according to the Ministry of Education and humanitarian partners. Across the country, only one-third of children are attending clases entirely in-person, while one-third are learning through a mixed in-person and online approach, and another one-third are fully learning online. Access to health was also impacted, with over 1,500 attacks on health care verified by the World Health Organization (WHO) since February 2022. Nearly half of health centres were rendered non-functional in some parts of the east and south.

Millions of people across Ukraine are dealing with mental health issues, rooted in the trauma caused by the war. Nearly 10 million people are estimated to be at risk of or living with a mental health condition, and 3.9 million people are estimated to suffer from moderate to severe symptoms, according to the WHO. Children are particularly affected, with over 1.5 million girls and boys requiring some form of assistance in managing stress, anxiety or other mental health issues, according to UNICEF.

For more information, download the latest Ukraine Humanitarian Situation Snapshot.

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