Top relief official says Russia strike kills 20 pensioners in Ukrainian village
By Anjali Sharma
UNITED NATIONS – UN top humanitarian official in Ukraine Matthias Schmale on Tuesday reported that a Russian airstrike on a Ukrainian village in the frontline region of Donetsk has killed over 20 including many elderly civilians who were lining up to collect pension payments.
He said that the attack on Yarova injured 20 others. Many elderly civilians have decided to stay at home in frontline communities, despite the escalating danger from Russia’s continuing offensive.
“This lasting violence continues to tear lives apart. In recent days, the Donetsk region has seen a rise in civilian casualties and damage as hostilities have intensified,” he said in a statement.
“On behalf of the United Nations and the humanitarian community, we stand with all families grieving their loved ones and with all those injured. Attacks affecting civilians as they go about their daily lives are unconscionable.”
WHO said that ambulances attacked, chronically ill patients lacking care and no peace in sight: for millions of Ukrainians, the run-up to winter of war is just the latest life-or-death challenge they face.
WHO representative in Ukraine Dr. Jarno Habicht, told reporters in Geneva that over 800 drones and missiles were involved in the latest attack, one of the biggest since the start of the war in February 2022.
“This is a reality [which] many aid workers, humanitarians, but most importantly, millions of Ukrainians are living day and night,” he said.
Dr. Habicht described his mission to the frontline Zaporizhzhia region which he said had suffered “relentless” attacks, including on healthcare.
“The strikes are continuous,” he insisted.
He explained that WHO is delivering medical kits to the facilities where patients with trauma injuries receive care.
“We have daily injuries, unfortunately, across Ukraine,” he said.
He pointed out to12% increase in attacks affecting health infrastructure in Ukraine.
He said that 1 in 4 attacks is against an ambulance.
“If we think about non-war environments, when anybody calls an ambulance, this is for a reason…This is for a reason of life and death,” he said. “But in Ukraine, the ambulances are under attack.”
According to UN humanitarian affairs coordination office, casualties from the latest attacks were reported in a number of other cities including Odesa, Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Kremenchuk, Kryvyi Rih and Kherson.
OCHA said that strikes targeted energy infrastructure, disrupting power and water supplies ahead of the winter season.
“We need to prepare for a winter in war because we don’t see peace in sight,” Dr. Habicht insisted.
He visited Zaporizhzhia and discussed the concerns and the situation with the authorities and health workers.
Dr. Habicht highlighted the need to keep heating stations open as the cold season approaches and ensure that clean water is available in healthcare facilities.
He underscored the magnitude of the mental health burden of the conflict, which will “stay for generations”.
According to WHO latest Health Needs Assessment conducted in Ukraine in April, said that 7 in 10 people reported mental health issues, anxiety, depression and severe stress over the last 12 months, “directly linked to attacks on civilian infrastructure”.
He added that as he visited hospital wards on Monday in Zaporizhzhia he saw a number of men and women over 60 needing rehabilitation support after suffering a stroke. “All the other diseases are continuing at the time of war.”
Dr. Habicht stressed that “recovery cannot wait” for patients with chronic diseases such as cancer and heart conditions.
The agency said that increased funding is needed for the humanitarian response in Ukraine and to support recovery and restoration efforts.
Only 35.5 per cent of the required ($46 million) have been made available for humanitarian partners, allowing WHO and its partners to reach one million people out of its three million target.
