Business news from Ukraine

UN calls for almost $0.5 bln in humanitarian aid to help Ukrainians get through winter

About $435 million is needed to help civilians across Ukraine by March 2024, according to the website of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
“The United Nations and partners are calling for about $435 million to be allocated for winter assistance. US dollars to provide winter assistance to more than 1.7 million people across Ukraine by March 2024,” the statement emphasizes.
It is noted that this year alone, the UN and partners have delivered 14 convoys to the frontline areas of Zaporizhzhia region, providing the necessary assistance to more than 30 thousand people living near the southern front. Since the beginning of the year, 96 humanitarian convoys have been delivered to the frontline areas.
In particular, as reported on November 3, an interagency humanitarian convoy delivered vital supplies for 1,600 people who remain in the frontline town of Orikhiv, Zaporizhzhia Oblast. The aid included medicines, household items, hygiene kits, blankets, mattresses, solar lamps and sleeping bags.

, ,

EU to discuss revival of Black Sea grain initiative at UN

EU Diplomacy Chief Josep Borrell says the events in Ukraine threaten global food security, and the EU will discuss with the UN Secretary General the prospect of reviving the “grain deal”.

“This affects all countries, but especially the weakest and poorest. In August 2022, the UN played a crucial role in mitigating this suffering through the Black Sea Grain Initiative. However, in July, Russia decided to abandon this agreement,” Borrell wrote in his blog post, looking ahead to the UN General Assembly’s High Level Week that opens in New York.

“We will discuss with UN Secretary General Guterres ways and means to revive it. Sustainable development goals are in the focus of the UNGA,” said the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs.

, , ,

UN: war in Ukraine has claimed lives of nearly 10,000 civilians

Civilian casualties from February 24, 2022, after Russia launched a full-scale war against Ukraine, to September 10, 2023, totaled 27,149 (26,717 as of August 27), including 9,614 deaths (9,511), the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UN OHCHR) reported.

“The UN OHCHR considers that the actual number of civilian deaths or injuries is significantly higher, as many reports from locations where such incidents have occurred continue to require further confirmation, while information from some locations where fighting continues has been delayed,” the document said regarding the UN data.

This applies, for example, to such localities as Mariupol (Donetsk region), Lisichansk, Popasnaya and Severodonetsk (Luhansk region), where numerous civilian deaths or injuries have been reported.

According to confirmed UN figures, 4,461 men, 2,672 women, 289 boys and 236 girls were killed, while the gender of 29 children and 1,927 adults could not yet be ascertained.

Among the 17,535 injured, 516 boys and 378 girls were killed, while 286 children whose gender could not yet be determined.

Compared to August 27, five children have died and 14 others have been injured.

While the UN OHCHR casualty count summary was previously issued daily, and then only on weekdays, it became weekly from July 2022 and biweekly from the end of May 2023. This summary, like the previous one, provides data by month.

According to them, the UN recorded the deaths of 55 civilians in 10 days in September. In August, the number of new deaths reported dropped to 147 from 161 in July, 186 in June, 174 in May, 182 in April, 181 in March and 144 in February.

The deadliest month for civilians, the UN points out, remains March last year, with a minimum of 4,168 deaths. In April 2022, according to an OHCHR publication, the number of civilian deaths due to war fell to 823 in April, 550 in May, 429 in June and 386 in July. There were 375 deaths in the first five days of the war from February 24 to February 28, 340 in August last year, 408 in September, 310 in October, 188 in November, 206 in December and 201 in January this year.

The number of wounded in the 10 days of September was 237, compared with 565 in August, 688 in July, 679 in June, 685 in May, 492 in April, 592 in March, 457 in February, 538 in January this year, 617 in December and 541 in November last year. In October, the number of injuries dropped to 795 from 983 in September, when it was up from August’s 921. Prior to that the monthly number of wounded exceeded a thousand: July, 1,131; June, 1,109; May, 1,139; April, 1,896; March, 3,001. In the first five days of the war last February, 469 people were wounded.

The UN OHCHR specifies that since the beginning of September, explosive weapons have killed 54 people and injured 170 others, while mines and explosive remnants of war have killed one person and injured 16 (6%).

Government-controlled territories accounted for 79% of casualties in the first 10 days of September, according to the UN.

The summary traditionally states that the increase in figures to the previous summary should not be attributed solely to cases after August 27, as during this period the Office verified a number of cases from the previous days.

Source: https://www.ohchr.org/en/news/2023/09/ukraine-civilian-casualty-update-11-september-2023

, ,

UN Secretary-General Guterres urges people to check facts and not spread fakes

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has called on people to check facts before sharing content on the Internet, thus preventing the spread of fakes.

“We all have a role to play in stopping the spread of harmful falsehoods and misinformation. Stop and check facts before sharing content online,” he wrote on microblogging Twitter.

He also added a number of questions to think about before sharing content online, namely “Who is the author of the content?”, “What is the source of the information?”, “Where did the information come from?”, “Why are you sharing it?” and “Where was it published?”.

, , ,

UN says Black Sea Grain Initiative has not resumed in full

An agreement on the safe export of Ukrainian grain from Black Sea ports has not been renewed in full, after Russia said it had been extended, the United Nations said Friday, May 26, Reuters reported.
“The agreement allowing safe exports of grain and fertilizers from Ukrainian Black Sea ports has not yet resumed in full, the United Nations said on Friday, after Russia decided last week to extend it,” it said.
The pact, called the Black Sea Grain Initiative, brokered by the United Nations and Turkey last July with Russia and Ukraine to alleviate a global food crisis exacerbated by Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, covers three ports, but since April 29, no ships have been allowed to call at the Yuzhny port, the UN said.
The UN and Turkey are “working closely with other parties to restore full operations … and remove all obstacles that impede operations and limit the scope of the Initiative,” the UN said in a statement.

,

War in Ukraine claimed lives of nearly 9,000 civilians – UN

Civilian casualties from February 24, 2022, after Russia launched a full-scale war against Ukraine, to May 21, 2023, totaled 24,012 (23,821 a week earlier), including 8,895 deaths (8,836), the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said Monday.

“OHCHR believes that the real number of civilian deaths or injuries is significantly higher, as many reports from places where such cases have occurred continue to require further confirmation, while information from some places where fighting is ongoing is delayed,” the UN data document noted.

This is the case, for example, in such locations as Mariupol (Donetsk region), Lysychansk, Popasna and Severodonetsk (Luhansk region), where numerous civilian deaths or injuries have been reported.

The UN confirmed that 4,040 men, 2,403 women, 275 boys and 218 girls were killed, while the gender of 30 children and 1,929 adults could not yet be determined.

Among the 15,117 wounded are 445 boys and 314 girls, and 276 children whose gender has not yet been determined.

Compared to May 14, two children were killed and seven others were wounded.

Whereas previously the OHCHR’s update on casualty figures was issued daily, and then only on weekdays, it became a weekly update in July. This report, like the previous one, provides data by month.

According to them, the number of deaths since the beginning of May was 133, compared with 180 in April, 181 in March, 142 in February, 199 in January, 206 in December and 187 in November.

The deadliest month for civilians, the UN points out, remains March of last year, with a minimum of 4,118 deaths. In April-2022, according to an OHCHR publication, the number of civilian deaths due to the war dropped to 804, in May to 535, in June to 428 and in July to 381. In the first five days of the war from February 24-28, 362 people died, in August 336, in September 398 and in October 305.

The number of wounded in the 21 days of May was 466, compared with 494 in April, 592 in March, 457 in February, 539 in January, 617 in December, and 541 in November. In October, the number of injured dropped to 795 from 981 in September, when it was up from 917 in August. Before that the number of wounded had exceeded a thousand each month: July – 1,129, June – 1,105, May – 1,138, April – 1,891, March – 2,990. In the first five days of the war last February, 465 people were wounded.

According to the report, in the first three weeks of May this year, large-area explosive weapons killed 122 people and wounded another 431, while mines and explosive remnants of war killed 11 people and wounded 35 (8 percent of total casualties).

Government-controlled territories accounted for 83 percent of the casualties in May, according to the UN.

The summary traditionally states that the increase in numbers to the previous summary should not be attributed only to cases after May 14, because during that period the Office verified a number of cases from previous days.