HIGHLIGHTS

• Strikes and shelling in Donetska and Sumska oblasts have resulted in increased humanitarian needs for civilians, with dozens killed or injured in Kostiantynivka Town, Donetska Oblast, alone.

• The average number of civilians leaving Donetska Oblast daily almost doubled over the last few days.

• The authorities extended mandatory evacuation requirements to 28 towns and villages in Sumska Oblast due to growing security concerns.

• Humanitarian assistance to people leaving front-line communities continued while aid workers mobilized support for affected residents after deadly attacks in Donetska and Sumska oblasts.

HUMANITARIAN SITUATION

Deadly strikes continued to cause multiple civilian casualties, damage homes and disrupt critical services in Donetska and Sumska oblasts, east and northeast of Ukraine, while the number of people displaced from affected communities increased, driving humanitarian needs.

As reported in Flash Update #1, the security situation in Donetska Oblast continued to deteriorate. According to the latest report of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU), June and July saw an increase in verified civilian casualties in Donetska Oblast from 125 civilians killed or injured in May to 224 in June and 269 in July 2024.

From 9-11 August, the towns of Kostiantynivka, Kramatorsk and Selydove in Donetska Oblast suffered large-scale attacks. A deadly strike on Kostiantynivka damaged homes, a market and a post office. Ongoing verification by the HRMMU has confirmed that at least 13 civilians (5 women, 5 men and 3 girls) were killed and 31 (18 women and 13 men) injured in the attack.

Similarly, in Sumska Oblast, the HRMMU verified that in July at least 4 civilians were killed, including 1 child, and 25 were injured, including 6 children, compared with 12 civilians affected in June and 22 civilians killed or injured in May 2024. The HRMMU verified damage to one health and four education facilities in Sumska Oblast in July.

Health Cluster partners also reported that the escalation of hostilities and increased civilian casualties in Sumska Oblast significantly increased the load on health facilities, pushing hospitals to a 90 per cent capacity and creating an urgent need for additional support and resources, including consumables, medications, equipment and protective equipment.

According to data from the Government of Ukraine, the number of people leaving Donetska Oblast, either through evacuations led by the Government with the support of humanitarians and volunteers or on their own, increased. On 10-11 August, over 1,000 people, including around 400 children, were evacuated daily, compared to 500-600 people during 1 to 6 August.

In Sumska Oblast, the authorities initially announced a mandatory evacuation from 23 towns and villages in 5 hromadas where, according to an assessment by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), some 5,000 residents were estimated to live, including nearly 500 children. On 9 August, the authorities increased the number of locations for mandatory evacuation to 28 towns and villages in 7 hromadas with an estimated total population of 20,000 people.

Between 6 and 8 August, some 100 people were evacuated from Sumska Oblast in coordination with local authorities and volunteers. At the same time, many more people left using their own means, including an estimated 400 people who left Myropilska Hromada between 5 and 9 August. According to IOM, this represented one of the largest displacement flows observed in Sumska Oblast in recent months. According to the Camp Coordination and Camp Management (CCCM) Cluster, as of 12 August, the capacity to accommodate evacuees in collective sites within the oblast was still sufficient. The evacuees from all the affected hromadas named food, hygiene items and bedding kits among their priority needs.

Furthermore, according to the CCCM Cluster, displaced people from affected communities continued to arrive in western oblasts. Among the most required services are case management, psychosocial support and accommodation.

HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE

Complementing the efforts of local authorities and national rescue services, aid organizations provided emergency humanitarian assistance in front-line communities in Donetska and Sumska Oblast, and supported people leaving in search of safety to other areas.

Shelter and Non-Food Items Cluster partners supported affected people in eight front-line communities in Donetska Oblast over the first 10 days of August. In particular, Angels of Salvation, with support from the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), assisted nearly 800 families with emergency materials, including tarpaulin, plastic sheeting and OSB boards to cover the damage. Furthermore, despite the deteriorating security situation, Cluster partners – ACTED, East-SOS, Danish Refugee Council, People in Need and Solidar Suisse — continued light and medium repairs, primarily in Kramatorskyi Raion, to prepare damaged residential housing for the coming winter period. Similarly, in Sumska Oblast, on 8 and 9 August, Humanitarian Mission Proliska provided materials for repairs and other essential items to over 50 residents in three villages in Konotopskyi and Shostkynskyi raions.

Cash Working Group (CWG) partners registered people whose homes had been damaged or destroyed by shelling for multi-purpose cash assistance. As of 9 August, nearly 50 families in Donetska Oblast had been enrolled for cash assistance. In Sumska Oblast, during the first week of August, ACTED and the Norwegian Refugee Council registered over 100 families in Hlukhiv Town, which was severely affected by an earlier attack, for rapid multi-purpose assistance.

Health Cluster partners remain engaged in health emergency response in Donetska and Sumska oblasts during the reporting period, providing essential health assistance as part of the regular programming, including for newly displaced people. In Donetska Oblast, the Cluster also supported partial relocation plans of some health facilities affected by the ongoing shelling.

Humanitarians helped civilians leave the areas of active hostilities in Donetska and Sumska Oblasts, complementing the government-led and volunteer-supported evacuation. Over 10-11 August, Humanitarian Mission Proliska provided social transport support to four families with children in Donetska Oblast to reach a collective site for displaced people in Poltavska Oblast. The NGO also transported 80 residents from Donetska Oblast to Poltava and Dnipro cities in central Ukraine as part of this project funded by the Ukraine Humanitarian Fund.

Humanitarian partners also coordinated efforts to support people evacuated to transit sites in Donetska, Dnipropetrovska and Sumska oblasts. In Donetska Oblast, 5 sites are currently open to accommodate some 120 people; a new transit centre has been established, and 1 more is in the pipeline in Dnipropetrovska Oblast with a capacity to accommodate up to 300 people for a temporary stay of up to 7 days. In Donetska oblast, Food Security and Livelihood Cluster partners, including World Central Kitchen, provided hot lunches at the transit centres.

As of 12 August, nearly 70 people evacuated from Donetska Oblast to the transit centre in Dnipropetrovska Oblast had received multi-sectoral assistance. NGOs Angels of Salvation and Danish Refugee Council, with support from UNICEF, delivered family hygiene kits and hygiene for children. NGOs Martin Club, Right to Protection, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Ukrainian Red Cross Society provided mental health and psychosocial support and legal assistance. Humanitarian Mission Proliska, supported by UNHCR, also delivered 100 blankets, 100 mattresses and 100 pillows to the centre. CWG partners – People in Need, Right to Protection and UNHCR – registered some 60 affected people in the transit centre for multi-purpose cash assistance.

In Sumska Oblast, a transit site in Sumy City, managed by Pluriton, provided multi-sectoral support to evacuees, including registration to receive multi-purpose cash assistance and other types of humanitarian aid. CWG partners prioritized multi-purpose cash assistance and sectoral cash support for those relocated to areas where cash assistance was feasible. In the transit centre in Sumy, UNHCR enrolled about 285 evacuees to receive multi-purpose cash assistance.

In western Ukraine, aid organizations continued to support people arriving from the areas of active hostilities. On 7 August, aid workers from Rokada and Integration Centre provided psychosocial and legal support, individual counselling and case management support for over 100 people, including over 20 children and 10 people with disabilities, who arrived by an evacuation train to Rivnenska Oblast. All displaced people were provided with temporary accommodation in Rivnenskyi and Sarnenskyi raions. Aid partners also continue to assess the needs and provide necessary support to people arriving from Donetska and Kharkivska oblasts as part of government-organized and self-evacuations in Cherkaska and Khmelnytska oblasts.

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

For more information, please contact OCHA Ukraine: Pilirani Semu Banda, pilirani.semubanda@un.org | Lyudmyla Malyuk, lyudmyla.malyuk@un.org