New York, February 23, 2024 – United Nations leaders delivered strong criticisms of Russia at meetings of both the UN General Assembly and Security Council convened to discuss the war in Ukraine as it enters a third year.

“The United Nations Charter and international law are our guide to creating a world free from the scourge of war,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the 15-nation Security Council. “Yet Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine directly violated both. Two years on – and a decade since Russia’s attempted illegal annexation of Ukraine’s Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol – the war in Ukraine remains an open wound at the heart of Europe.”

“It is high time for peace – a just peace, based on the United Nations Charter, international law and General Assembly resolutions,” he said.

Guterres said the world is currently “at a chaotic moment” in the wake of the Cold War and a period of unipolarity. “We are now making a turbulent transition to an as-yet uncertain multipolar world. Power relations are unclear, creating a sense of instability and impunity.”

He said the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022 has set a “dangerous precedent” because it violated international law and principles set out in the UN Charter.

“In any war, everyone suffers. But the people of Ukraine are suffering appallingly from the war inflicted on them by Russia.”

“The war is also hurting the people of Russia,” Guterres said. “Thousands of young Russians are dying on the frontlines. Civilians hit by strikes on Russian cities are also suffering. The danger of the conflict escalating and expanding is very real.

And around the world, the war is deepening geopolitical divides.”

At the meeting of the UN General Assembly, which comprises 193 nations, Dennis Francis, its president, said member states cannot remain blind to the ongoing war or ignore the plight of the Ukrainian people.

The war “is actively undermining the very foundations of our UN Charter – threatening the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity we all committed to hold dear and to defend,” Francis said.

“While the Security Council may be paralyzed by division, let us draw strength from the collective voice of the General Assembly – which has pronounced itself twice condemning the aggression and demanding the immediate, complete and unconditional withdrawal of Russian military forces from the territory of Ukraine, within its internationally recognized borders,” he said.

“Beyond condemnations, we, the United Nations, must actively work towards a comprehensive, just and sustainable peace in line with the Charter of this organization.” (By J. Tuyet Nguyen)

Ukraine war two years on: destruction and displacement – 14.6 million people need humanitarian assistance this year

Oslo/New York, February 21, 2024 – The Russian military invaded Ukraine two years ago on February 24 and the escalating war has inflicted a devastating impact on the country and the population. The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) said new data from a survey it conducted with over 1,000 participants across Ukraine has revealed that 64 per cent of respondents in areas under Russian occupation reported that they are unable to meet their basic needs like food, water and shelter. Almost half (47 per cent) of people surveyed in the east and south of Ukraine report their houses have been damaged or destroyed and 83 per cent of respondents across the country report that they fear for their lives and others around them, or do not feel safe. The following is a press release from the NRC.

Read New data from a survey conducted by the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) with over 1,000 participants across Ukraine. The survey revealed the devastating impacts of the escalation of the war, two years on. The survey which covered topics related to displacement, access to services and the ability of Ukrainians to meet their basic needs, paints a complex picture of a population, particularly those in the east and south, who have been pushed to the limit to survive.

Anjela, 44, from Mykolaiv, and her family have been displaced for almost two years after their house was destroyed.

“We decided to be the first ones to flee the village. We simply took a blanket and tore it into pieces to make white flags. We walked 15 kilometres under the shelling, one after another. We were afraid of being shot so we needed to run fast,” she said. On top of having to flee, in April 2022, Anjela was dealt the devastating blow when her father, who had stayed behind in their home village to look after his parents was killed by a missile.

“People who were still in the village at that time pulled him out from under the rubble, it was all under fire…he did not have half his head. My father was buried, covered in a blanket. He was 65 years old. It’s good that people buried him and put the cross, so at least we knew where his body was. Others did not have this chance.”

Anjela told NRC that it wasn’t until one year later that they were able to have her father’s body exhumed and give him a proper burial in a village near where she and her family are now displaced. She told NRC that he could not be buried in their home village as the local cemetery was now contaminated with mines.

Anjela’s story highlights that in addition to prolonged displacement and the destruction of their homes, many families are also dealing with tragic loss and trauma as the war rages on.

A sobering 37 per cent of respondents to the survey reported that they had lost an immediate or extended family member in the last 24 months.

Data from the report also points to the potential conditions for Ukrainians living in areas of Ukraine currently under Russian occupation. 64 per cent of respondents believed to be in areas under Russian occupation reported that they are unable to meet their basic needs at all, meaning they are struggling to find food, water and shelter. 

The level of humanitarian needs in Ukraine remains high. Last year just over two-thirds of the funding needed was covered. This year it is expected that 14.6 million people in Ukraine will need humanitarian assistance.

Two years on, the suffering in Ukraine is becoming a protracted crisis, as people exhaust their resources and struggle to cope. “The daily reality for millions of Ukrainians is living under the constant threat of shelling and death,” said Jan Egeland, secretary general of NRC “It is essential that civilians caught up in conflict are protected, and are able to access lifesaving aid. We have a right – and a duty – to ensure the provision of assistance to civilians, no matter where they are.”  

“Humanitarian organisations must be given immediate access to those civilians living in Russian occupied areas,” said Egeland. “Member states must do everything in their power to ensure respect for international humanitarian law in Ukraine, while donor nations must revamp their efforts to ensure continued humanitarian assistance for millions of Ukrainians still desperately in need of aid. The world must not forget Ukraine.” 

Notes: Between January and February 2024, NRC and research company Upinion conducted an online survey with conflict affected persons in Ukraine, with a special focus on frontline areas in the east (Dnipro, Kharkiv, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia) and south (Odesa, Mykolaiv, Kirovohrad, Kherson, Crimea), and with a focus on elderly people.  

A total of 1,090 respondents engaged with the online survey, 80 per cent of whom were women. 

The majority of respondents in Ukraine fell within the age range of 46 to 69 (54 per cent), while smaller proportions belonged to younger age categories (31 per cent) or were older than 70 (15 per cent). 

In addition to the online outreach, Upinion and NRC undertook active efforts to reach elderly respondents. 

Last year just over two-thirds of the funding needed to cover the UN and partners Humanitarian Response Plan for Ukraine was covered, according to Financial Tracking Service. This year it is expected that 14.6 million people in Ukraine will need humanitarian assistance, according to UNOCHA.

NRC has been active in Ukraine since 2014, expanding its efforts after the conflict intensified in February 2022. NRC provided life-saving assistance to just under 500,000 people in Ukraine in 2023 through offices in Lviv, Dnipro, Kyiv, and Odesa, and field offices in Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv, Ternopil, Chernihiv.

Read the full report here. Media contact: Becky Bakr Vindheim, Head of Nordic Advocacy & Media. Advocacy and Media Section, Head Office – Phone: +47 41613766 | Twitter: @BeckyBakr – Norwegian Refugee Council

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