Ukraine Humanitarian Response 2023 Winter Attacks: Humanitarian Impact of Intensified Strikes and Hostilities – Flash Update #1 (13 Dec 2023) [EN/UK] - Ukraine (2024)

HIGHLIGHTS

• A wave of airstrikes on many of Ukraine’s regions overnight left scores of civilians injured and damaged critical infrastructure, including energy and water systems. The capital Kyiv was particularly affected, with many homes, a hospital and a kindergarten damaged in at least four of the capital’s 10 districts, impacting hundreds of people.

• The new strikes come on top of the relentless fighting and daily attacks in the south and east of the country, which also continued over the past days, particularly impacting communities close to the front line.

• According to security and humanitarian reports, airstrikes similar to today’s appear to have increased over the past few days and may indicate a new wave of the so-called “winter” attacks. If this predicted trend transpires, it is likely to lead to a further deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Ukraine and impact the response, similarly to last winter.

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• At the same time, yesterday's cyberattack on one of Ukraine’s largest mobile operators impacted millions of people's access to vital public services that relied on Kyivstar as both wireless and wired Internet service provider, including the banking system, postal services, as well as air raid notification systems that experienced interruption or unstable operations throughout the country.

• Humanitarians are mobilizing emergency assistance in the aftermath of recent attacks. They have also stepped up response activities to address specific humanitarian needs caused or exacerbated by the cold season and have reached over 800,000 people already, in addition to the regular aid to help millions suffering the consequences of the war.

HUMANITARIAN SITUATION

A wave of airstrikes on many of Ukraine’s regions overnight, including the capital, Kyiv, has left scores of civilians injured and damaged critical infrastructure, including energy and water systems, according to the authorities and humanitarian organizations. The attacks, which appear to have increased over the past few days – at the same time as temperatures started to drop below freezing – bring more suffering to people whose coping mechanisms have already been exhausted by the war. The new strikes come on top of the relentless fighting and daily attacks in the south and east of the country, which also continued over the past days, particularly impacting communities close to the front line.

In Kyiv today, dozens of civilians, including several children, were injured while sleeping at their homes after they were reportedly hit by the debris of missiles in four largely populated districts of the city, according to Ukrainian authorities. Several buildings and private vehicles, a hospital and a kindergarten reportedly sustained heavy damage, according to humanitarians on the ground. Water and electricity supplies were also hit in Kyiv, temporarily cutting off thousands of people from vital supplies. The systems were reportedly restored within a few hours of the attack, according to the city authorities.

This was the third attack on Kyiv in less than a week, following similar strikes on 7 and 11 December, which also left civilian infrastructure damaged. These were the first major strikes observed in these parts of the country since 21 September 2023, indicating a new wave of the so-called “winter” attacks with the potential to have a profound impact on the deterioration of the humanitarian situation in the country and impacting the response, similarly to last winter.

Intense hostilities and daily reported attacks in the south and east of Ukraine, especially in the hromadas along the front line, also continued, causing civilian casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure. An attack today, for example, damaged pre-port infrastructure in southern Odeska Oblast, following similar strikes that damaged grain storage and transportation facilities in the oblast on 7 December. On the same day, a power station and a coal mine were reportedly hit in Donetska Oblast, the latter putting additional pressure on energy generation amid below-zero temperatures in one of the most affected parts of Ukraine, according to the authorities.

At the same time, on the eve of today’s impactful attack in Ukraine’s capital and across other oblasts, the largest mobile operator in Ukraine, Kyivstar, reported a country-wide technical malfunction due to a large hacker attack on 12 December, lasting over 36 hours so far. A series of public services that relied on Kyivstar as both wireless and wired Internet service provider have reportedly been affected, including banking system, postal services, as well as air raid notification systems that experienced interruption or unstable operations throughout the country, according to the authorities and humanitarian security reports. This impacted the air raid warning system of over 80 localities in Kyivska oblast and large parts of Cherkaska Dnipropetrovska, Kharkivska and Sumska oblasts, although authorities have been working to find alternative communication means to keep the alerts working. However, the disruptions, coupled with people’s lack of access to mobile data to quickly access the alert system, put millions at additional risk amid the continued attacks, according to humanitarians and security reports.

HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE

Humanitarian organizations are working tirelessly to provide immediate response to support people in the aftermath of attacks and address specific humanitarian needs caused or exacerbated by the cold season in Ukraine.

Today in Kyiv, aid organizations, including the Ukrainian Red Cross Society (URCS) and the national NGOs Right to Protection and Rokada, provided immediate emergency assistance such as blankets and hot meals for 400 people, and medical and psychosocial support. Furthermore, humanitarians installed two warming points and registered people impacted by the strike for cash assistance, complementing the efforts of the authorities to find accommodation for people whose houses had been damaged. Earlier on 11 December, the NGO Mission Proliska provided more than 20 affected families with construction kits, plastic tarpaulin sheets and compressed wood sheets to repair damaged houses following an attack that damaged homes and other infrastructure in Kherson City. Similarly, on 8 December, Mission Proliska supported hundreds of people whose houses were damaged during strikes on Kharkiv City in eastern Ukraine and Yurivka Town in Dnipropetrovska Oblast, central Ukraine.

At the same time, humanitarian partners, including 45 national and international NGOs and UN agencies, have stepped up efforts to support people with specific assistance to face the harsh winter, reaching over 800,000 people across Ukraine between October and November. This is almost half the 1.7 million people targeted with winter support in the 2023 - 2024 Ukraine Winter Response Plan. Over 105,000 were supported with winter heating and the same number of people with winter clothes. Additionally, more than 80,000 people received critical household items, amongst other modalities of assistance. Humanitarians reported the highest number of people reached with winter response across Ukraine in Sumska Oblast, which borders the Russian Federation in the north with the lowest below-zero temperatures in winter, with more than 75 per cent against the target. The highest number of people reached among the front-line oblasts are in Kharkivska and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts (nearly 45 per cent) in the east and centre of Ukraine. While in Donetska, Zaporizka and Khersonska oblasts, in the east, south-east and south of Ukraine, the number of people reached with life-saving winter support is 20 to 30 per cent.

Separately, OCHA is in contact with the Emergency Telecommunications Cluster to follow up on what impact that the air raid alert system malfunction will have on the delivery of humanitarian assistance and humanitarian access. Kyivstar reported that they are working to restore fixed-line internet for families and launch mobile and internet services following the alleged cyberattack that impacted the mobile operator network country-wide. The Government informed that patrol police and the State Emergency Service of Ukraine are trying to fill the gap left by the malfunction of the air raid alert system, warning people of possible attacks when the air raid is activated.

For more information, please contact OCHA Ukraine:

Saviano Abreu, diabreuisidoro@un.org

Tanya Lyubimova, tanya.lyubimova@un.org

Yaroslav Berezovskyi, yaroslav.berezovskyi@un.org