Ukraine battle: Alarm raised in Security Council over civilian assaults | EUROtoday

“We condemn all attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure,” mentioned Khaled Khiari, Assistant Secretary-General on the UN Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations. “They are prohibited under international law; they are unacceptable and must stop now.”

“Regrettably, our repeated calls for protection of civilians appear to fall on deaf ears,” he mentioned, pointing to the Ukrainian port metropolis of Odesa which has change into a frequent goal of deadly missile and drone assaults in latest days and weeks.

Spike in drone assaults

As the full-scale Russian invasion enters its third yr, latest civilian casualties have additionally been reported in Kharkiv, Donetsk, Sumy and Zaporizhzhia areas of Ukraine, Mr. Khiari mentioned.

In addition, studies present “the fighting is spreading to new residential areas in the east of Ukraine”, he mentioned, noting the entire, or close to full, destruction of villages, cities and cities by the hands of Russian forces for the reason that battle started, together with in Mariupol, Bakhmut, Lysychansk, Severodonetsk, Volnovakha and most not too long ago in Avdiivka.

“This horrific pattern must not be perpetuated,” he mentioned, emphasizing that greater than 10,000 civilians have been killed for the reason that begin of the battle, in keeping with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

Khaled Khiari, Assistant Secretary-General for Middle East, Asia and the Pacific of the Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations, briefs the Security Council assembly on upkeep of peace and safety of Ukraine.

Invasion, unlawful elections, annexations should finish

Turning to different critical considerations, he mentioned studies of Russia’s plans to carry its March presidential elections within the territories of Ukraine presently underneath its management are “deeply disturbing”.

“The attempted illegal annexations of Ukrainian territory have no validity under international law, as also declared by the UN General Assembly,” he mentioned.

“The past two years of war have come with a heavy price for Ukraine, Europe and the world,” he mentioned. “We must not allow for this war to bring further loss of life, destruction and suffering.”

‘Time to bring suffering to an end’

Echoing that decision, was Lisa Doughten, of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), who briefed the Council in regards to the grim scenario on the bottom.

The newest wave of escalatory assaults amid a harsh winter reveals how the battle continues to inflict immeasurable human struggling, dying and devastation on the individuals of Ukraine, she mentioned, delivering an announcement on behalf of UN emergency aid chief Martin Griffiths.

“Attacks directed against civilians and civilian objects are prohibited under international humanitarian law,” she burdened.

“Indiscriminate attacks are also strictly prohibited; parties to the conflict must take constant care to spare all civilians and civilian objects, including infrastructure essential for civilians’ survival.”

Harsh influence, particularly on girls and ladies

She additionally mentioned the battle can also be having a very harsh influence on girls and ladies in Ukraine, she mentioned, honouring them on this International Women’s Day, with an improve in gender-based violence in opposition to them being “a shocking hallmark of this war”.

One third of women-led households in Ukraine are struggling to feed themselves, and 60 per cent of older girls are unable to supply for their very own primary wants, in keeping with the UN reproductive well being company, UNFPA, she regretted to notice.

“Tragically, a lack of sufficient resources to sustain and expand a network of medical and social care services means many of the 2.5 million people anticipated to be subjected to gender-based violence in the coming year” won’t have entry to providers they want, she mentioned.

© UNICEF/Aleksey Filippov

A household receives winter clothes kits for kids and different provides from UNICEF within the frontline group of Marhanets, Ukraine. (file).

UN will assist ‘for as long as it takes’

“The UN and its partners continue to do everything we can to provide humanitarian assistance to millions of people across Ukraine in spite of the ongoing and deteriorating security situation,” she mentioned, noting that two humanitarian employees have misplaced their lives and 10 have been injured in 2024 alone, highlighting the hazards of delivering help near the frontline.

“As hostilities continue to escalate, we are deeply concerned about the fate of civilians in these territories whom we are unable to reach at any adequate scale,” she mentioned, together with the shortage of humanitarian entry to the Russian-occupied components of Donetsk, Kherson and Luhansk.

“The consequences for an estimated 1.5 million people in need of lifesaving assistance there are unthinkable, and they are avoidable,” she mentioned, including that worldwide humanitarian legislation requires all events to permit and facilitate the fast and unimpeded passage of humanitarian aid for civilians in want and should be sure that help employees have the liberty of motion required for his or her work.

The UN and its help companions stay dedicated to safeguarding the life and dignity of civilians “for as long as it takes, but it has gone on too long,” she mentioned, including that “it is time to bring the humanitarian catastrophe in Ukraine and the suffering of the Ukrainian people to an end.”