Humanitarian Impact of Intensified Hostilities in Donetska Oblast
HIGHLIGHTS
As hostilities in Donetska Oblast escalate, the humanitarian needs of over 60,000 people living in areas of active hostilities deepen.
Civilians and humanitarian organizations face challenges in accessing and delivering aid due to increased fighting and front-line shifts.
So far in August, thousands of residents have left and continue to leave Donetska and Sumska oblasts, seeking safety through government-led evacuations and their own means of transport.
Aid workers are supporting the most affected people remaining in Donetska Oblast and those moving to other parts of Ukraine.
HUMANITARIAN SITUATION
The number of residents leaving front-line communities in Donetska Oblast in search of safety in other parts of the country increases as the security situation in the oblast continues to deteriorate. Those who remain face increased humanitarian needs, while humanitarian access to the most affected communities is shrinking because of the prevailing security situation.
In Donetska Oblast, front-line communities suffered large-scale damage to housing and critical civilian infrastructure, which disrupted access to electricity, water and gas supply. According to Ukraine's Ministry of Energy, as of 8 August, nearly 80,000 consumers – families, social facilities and business entities – in some 135 towns and villages in the Ukraine-controlled areas of the oblast had no electricity.
According to local authorities, in August, on average, the oblast suffered between 2,500 and 5,000 strikes and attacks every day. In July, the Human Rights Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (HRMMU) verified 370 civilian casualties, including 269 in Ukraine-controlled parts and over 100 in the occupied areas of Donetska Oblast, compared to 224 and 64, respectively, in June. At least five medical and 19 education facilities were damaged or destroyed on both sides of the front line in July, according to the HRMMU. The towns of Myrnohrad, Pokrovsk and Toretsk have come under repeated attacks since the start of August, which killed and injured civilians and damaged homes, schools and health facilities.
According to the Government of Ukraine's data, out of 450,000 residents remaining in the Ukraine-controlled parts of the oblast as of early August, some 62,500 people, including nearly 3,400 children, live in areas of active hostilities.
Civilians in front-line communities, many of whom are older people and reluctant to leave their homes despite increasing risks, are struggling to meet their basic needs. Services have been disrupted in some communities for months. Many local shops and markets are no longer operational, while humanitarian access to these communities is impeded due to the intensity of shelling and hostilities.
According to a Rapid Needs Assessment of the humanitarian situation in Toretsk Town conducted by the International Organization for Migration in mid-July, the town's population had dropped almost ten-fold since February 2022. The overwhelming majority of remaining residents were people aged 60 or older, and approximately two-fifths reportedly had a disability. The town had no functional health facilities or key public services, including electricity, heating, wastewater and waste management systems and cash distribution points. All residential buildings had been damaged, with residents spending most of their time in basement shelters.
Since the beginning of August, the number of people leaving front-line communities, either through their own means or as part of the government-led or volunteer-supported evacuations, has increased to over 600 per day. Between 1 and 6 August, nearly 4,700 people left the oblast in search of safety. In the last two months, Government-led evacuations from Donetska Oblast, primarily by railway, were organized mainly to Rivnenska and Volynska oblasts. Partners on the ground reported that people leaving Donetska Oblast through their own means also go to Lvivska Oblast and other parts of the country.
Further north, in Sumska Oblast, on 7 August, local authorities announced civilians' mandatory evacuation locations from 23 towns and villages in 6 communities in the oblast due to increased hostilities on the border with the Russian Federation. The Krasnopillia border crossing for people entering Ukraine from the Russian Federation was closed. According to the authorities, around 6,000 people, including 425 children, are estimated to live in these areas. The most vulnerable – older people, people with disabilities and families with children – require support to leave the areas and on the way to their intended destinations. Partners on the ground note that residents are also leaving using their own means of transport.
Temporary accommodation and livelihood support are among the key needs of recently displaced people.
HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE
Complementing the efforts of local authorities and responders, aid organizations have been delivering humanitarian assistance to the front-line communities in Donetska Oblast and supporting people affected, despite access constraints. On 31 July, an inter-agency convoy led by the Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine, Denise Brown, delivered nearly 10 tons of medical supplies and hygiene kits to a front-line community in Donetska Oblast. The supplies were provided by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO) for the most vulnerable people, including older people and people with disabilities, to meet their basic needs and protect their dignity.
Aid workers are also assisting displaced people on the move. Transit centres are operational in Donetska Oblast and neighbouring Dnipropetrovska Oblast, where those displaced can temporarily stay before moving further.
Several humanitarian partners of the Food Security and Livelihoods Cluster provided food support. In particular, the World Food Programme (WFP) provided ready-to-eat meals for evacuees to take on the train. The INGO World Central Kitchen regularly provided sandwiches or soup for evacuees, while the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation delivered food packages.
Furthermore, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Cluster partners, including INGO Solidarités International and LUkraine, provided hygiene supplies and hygiene traveller kits. NNGO East-SOS rendered protection services, particularly legal support for the displaced people.
Furthermore, Cash Working Group partners – UNICEF and NNGO Angels of Salvation – provided multi-purpose cash assistance amounting to UAH10,800 (US$260) per person for families with children. In July alone, humanitarian partners disbursed over US$1 million in multi-purpose cash assistance to about 2,500 residents of 22 front-line hromadas in Donetska Oblast.
Child Protection and Education partners – UNICEF and the INGO International Rescue Committee – distributed backpacks containing school materials, power banks and flashlights for schoolchildren.
Humanitarians also support newly displaced people in hosting communities in coordination with local authorities. For instance, in Rivnenska and Volynska oblasts, which receive evacuation trains from Donetska Oblast, aid workers met evacuees to provide immediate assistance. They distributed meals and potable water and provided medical assistance and mental health and psychosocial support. According to the local authorities, in July alone, Volynska Oblast accommodated over 260 displaced people from Donetska Oblast, including 60 children. Local authorities and partners also provided aid to people in need of assistance in specialized care institutions.
NOTE: This Flash Update is prepared through collected public information and current response data from partners available at the time of publication and could be amended as the situation evolves.