sign in sign up
<<
Home , Berdyansk, Mariupol, Mykolaiv, Zaporizhzhia

Situation report No.16 as of 17 October 2014

This report is produced by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in collaboration with humanitarian partners. It covers the period from 11 – 17 October 2014, unless otherwise noted. The next report will be published on 24 October. Highlights

• Despite significant advocacy by many stakeholders, the draft law on IDPs failed

Volyn to make it to the parliamentary agenda for consideration on 14 October. In the meantime, the Ministry of Social Policy

launched centralized IDP registration on L'viv ' 15 October under resolution 509. Ivano-Frankivs'k Khmel'nyts'kyy Vinnytsya

Kharkiv Donets'k Zakarpatska Luhans'k • Serious ceasefire violations are still Kirovohrad Dnipropetrovs'k reported daily in parts of and Mykolayiv regions, despite the September Odesa ceasefire and nine-point Memorandum. English translation here . IDP influx in 2014 Circle diameter represents size of IDP influx women • At least 3,707 killed and 9,075 wounded men children in as of 15 October elderly and disabled (source: OHCHR/WHO) 1. not disaggregated 5.2m 415,078 427,004 Estimated number of people living in Internally displaced people as of Fled to neighboring countries as of conflict-affected areas as of 17 17 October (source: SES) 17 October October

3 June to 17 October Situation Overview

¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸¸¸¸ ¸¸¸¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ The Ukrainian Parliament met for a final session on 14 October. An ¸¸ ¸¸¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ Luhansk ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸¸ ¸¸¸¸ ¸¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸¸¸ ¸¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸¸¸¸ ¸ ¸ ¸¸¸ ¸¸¸ ¸¸ ¸ ¸ ¸¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸¸¸ ¸ anti-corruption bureau was created and additional anti-corruption ¸¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸¸ ¸¸¸¸¸ Luh¸ ¸¸ аnsk ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸¸¸¸¸¸ ¸ ¸ ¸¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸¸ ¸¸¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸¸ legislation was passed. The lustration legislation was also signed into ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸¸ ¸ ¸ ¸¸¸ ¸¸ ¸ ¸ ¸¸ ¸ ¸¸¸¸¸¸¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ Horlivk¸ ¸¸¸¸а¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ Dnipropetrovsk ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ force by President Poroshenko. Unfortunately, Parliament did not table ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸¸ ¸¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸¸ ¸¸ ¸ ¸ ¸¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸¸¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸¸ ¸ ¸ ¸¸¸¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸¸ ¸¸¸¸¸¸¸¸ ¸ ¸¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸¸ ¸¸¸ ¸ Donetsk¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸¸¸¸¸¸¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸¸ ¸ ¸ ¸¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ the draft IDP law during the session. The Chairman of Parliament, ¸ ¸¸ ¸ ¸¸¸¸ ¸¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸¸¸ ¸ ¸¸¸ ¸ ¸¸¸ ¸ ¸ ¸¸ ¸¸¸ ¸¸ ¸¸ ¸¸ ¸ ¸¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸¸ ¸ ¸¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ however, announced that the draft law will be tabled for voting prior to ¸ ¸ Donetsk ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ ¸ the upcoming elections on 26 October. The law would resolve several ¸ ¸ key outstanding issues that cannot be addressed within the current Zaporizhzhia ¸ ¸ RUSSIAN ¸ ¸ ¸ legislative framework. Mаriupol¸ FEDERATION

¸ Security incidents On 17 October, a first meeting of the inter-agency working group on the Return delivery of humanitarian assistance in Ukraine took place facilitated by Displacement Previous extent of rebel control OCHA and under the leadership of the Ministry of Social Policy. The Rebel-held areas working group includes representatives of donors, Government entities, NGOs and UN to jointly address and remedy ongoing impediments to rapid and comprehensive humanitarian assistance in Ukraine, including simplification of procedures for humanitarian assistance and tax exemption. The most urgent problems were discussed and several follow-up actions identified for earliest solution.

1 This is a very conservative estimate of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine and World Health Organization based on available official data. These totals include: casualties of the Ukrainian armed forces as reported by the Ukrainian authorities; 298 people from flight MH-17; and casualties reported by civil medical establishments and local administrations of Donetsk and Luhansk regions: civilians and some members of armed groups (without distinguishing them). OHCHR and WHO believe that actual fatality numbers are considerably higher.

United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Coordination Saves Lives | www.unocha.org Situation Report No. 16 – Ukraine | 2

The Government of Ukraine is reviewing the UN Resident Coordinator's request to approve UN humanitarian operations in rebel-controlled areas. Upon approval, a small mission of technical experts will conduct a due diligence assessment mission to Donetsk to map possible implementing partners and coordinate logistical arrangements ahead of future humanitarian assistance operations.

Serious ceasefire violations continue to be reported daily and shelling has intensified in parts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The OSCE has reported civilian deaths in the vicinity of city of . Affected populations remain vulnerable and in need of support. Winterization and shelter activities are in full swing, and the humanitarian community is expanding into eastern regions. Humanitarian agencies continue access negotiations and scale-up of activities in the five most affected regions (Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia). This week, OCHA deployed two humanitarian advisors to facilitate coordination and response in Donetsk city, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Mariupol and Zaporizhzhia. General coordination meetings will be facilitated, in addition to the sector-specific meetings already in place (shelter/NFI, protection). Funding

The Preliminary Response Plan (PRP) was launched on 14 August, against which UN agencies requested an initial $33.3 million for immediate life-saving needs. Since the launch of the PRP, the situation has significantly deteriorated and needs have risen further. As of 17 October, donors have contributed $11.6 million (UN only).

As of 17 October, the total amount provided by donors to international aid organizations for relief activities in Ukraine amounts to $23.7 million.

Ukraine Crisis 2014

$33.3 million requested Funding by donor ($) Funded France 35% Luxembourg Hungary Sweden Norway Republic of Korea ECHO Japan Estonia Switzerland Netherlands Australia Austria United States Finland Unmet Canada 65% CERF Germany

All humanitarian partners, including donors and recipient agencies, are encouraged to inform OCHA's Financial Tracking Service (FTS - http://fts.unocha.org) of cash and in-kind contributions by e-mailing: [email protected]

Humanitarian Response

Early Recovery and Livelihoods (sector lead: Ms Inita Paulovica, [email protected]) Preparedness: • The Recovery Agency is being supported to develop web-based monitoring of damages in the Donbas area. Further immediate support will include short-term technical assistance to the Donbas Recovery Agency to prepare for phase I of the Recovery and Peacebuilding Assessment (RPA) which will commence on 3 November. • The UN, the WB, and EU are mobilizing staff an consultants to undertake the joint RPA under the leadership of the Donbas Recovery Agency.

Needs: • Need for significant investments to restore public infrastructure. • Restoring the economic fabric of the affected regions will require significant efforts in rehabilitation and restructuring the economy (due to closure of businesses). A comprehensive programme for economic

United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Coordination Saves Lives | www.unocha.org Situation Report No. 16 – Ukraine | 3

restoration of the region is required, focusing on productive capacities, livelihoods, employment, and private sector development if the region is required. • Need for developing a reconciliation, confidence-building and peacebuilding approach as a common concern of recovery activities. • Need to enhance focus on cross-cutting issues related gender, human rights, and environment in the recovery activities. • Need for developing government institutional capacity in the conflict-affected areas to coordinate and implement recovery assistance at the local levels.

Response: • Minor reconstruction and repair of housing and public buildings continues in affected areas. Several international projects, implemented by NGOs Caritas Ukraine and People in Need, are ongoing. • Local government and domestic NGOs are also conducting reconstruction works, and gradually improving access to basic services on the ground. • A training for NGOs working on the methodology of reconciliation was conducted on 13-15 October. • Preparation of the Interim Recovery Programme based on the RPA, to take place between 3 November and 19 December.

Gaps & Constraints: • Development of a program for employment opportunities is required. • More in-depth information about the situation in rebel-controlled areas is required. • Lack of information on employment opportunities persists among IDPs. • Problems with re-registration of businesses from Donbas and regions at the new places of residence continue to be reported. • Challenges persist for IDPs in terms of relocation to small towns, provision of adequate employment opportunities and access to state assistance.

Education (sector lead: Ms. Olena Sakovych, [email protected]) Preparedness: • The Ministry of Education (MoES) estimates that around 60% of schools opened on 1 October in conflict- affected areas. MoES does not encourage children to attend schools in rebel-controlled areas due to safety concerns. • UNICEF monitors report that at least 57 out of 169 schools in Donetsk city are not operational due to continued shelling. Four schools in Donetsk are completely ruined. The schools in Donetsk are attended by about 55% of children according to UNICEF monitor. • In government-controlled areas in Donetsk and Luhansk , around 100 educational facilities remain partially or completely damaged 2. The numbers of internally displaced children attending schools in the areas of their displacement remains at 70,000 children. No increase observed. • Agreement was reached with the local administration in , Crimea, to provide school graduates with academic achievement certificates from both Ukraine and . This should potentially facilitate the graduates’ further entry into universities in Ukraine, should they wish to do so. The same practice is not, however, common for the rest of the Crimean peninsula.

Needs: • Access to educational facilities for children in rural areas in some regions of Ukraine is hampered as many school buses were sourced for military purposes. In particular, 26 school buses were requisitioned in Ivano-Frankivsk region and the local administration currently faces a major shortage of school transportation. MoES is working to assess the needs and is preparing a request for assistance to UNICEF. • According to MoES there are sufficient teachers available to accommodate the increased demand at schools where displaced children have been enrolled. However, there is a dramatic lack of funding to cover the payroll costs for these additional staff. The MoES sent a special request to the Ministry of Finance to allocate additional funding for educational facilities.

Response: • Following ongoing advocacy efforts by sector members, the MoES and MoSP have agreed to include a component on ensuring children’s right to education in emergency in the “National Action Plan on the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child”. • Mine risk education materials have been disseminated to 1,644 preschool and school educational facilities in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. MoES is having difficulties distributing MRE materials to rebel-controlled

2 At least 30 educational institutions are damaged in the city of Horlovka.

United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Coordination Saves Lives | www.unocha.org Situation Report No. 16 – Ukraine | 4

areas. Sector members are exploring solutions to disseminate MRE materials in areas of ongoing fighting. Discussions are also currently under way to have the materials included in non-food item (NFI) distribution kits.

Gaps & Constraints: • Children in Ukraine began six day per week schooling in October. There will be no fall break in order to ensure that the schools can be closed for two months in the winter to save on heating costs. This extended vacation could be detrimental for working parents.

Emergency Shelter and NFI (sector lead contact: Mr. Igor Chantefor, [email protected]) Preparedness: • The Shelter/NFI Sector has initiated coordination meetings for Kyiv city and Kyiv next week. The third Shelter/NFI meetings took place in Sloviansk and Kharkiv. • Following adoption of two government resolutions on registration and cash assistance, the Sector is adjusting its activities accordingly to complement government assistance. • Partners continue to identify and assess IDP accommodation facilities for refurbishment and repair in Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Mariupol, and Zaporizhzhia regions, as well as accessible parts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

Needs: • The autumn weather makes winterization one of the urgent priorities along with provision warm blankets and winter clothes for IDPs. • Due to regular ceasefire violations, a mid-term solution must be planned in order to cover needs for the displaced population stranded in insecure areas.

Response: • UNHCR signed an MoU with the Luhansk Regional State Administration to establish presence in the region and support local authorities with assistance to 25,000 IDPs in government-controlled areas. An inventory of accommodation facilities will be conducted, as well as the provision of a cash assistance program and self-reliance grants for IDPs (link). On 14 October, Memorandum was signed with Zakarpattia regional authorities, which envisions cash grants to some 160 most vulnerable IDP families (link). • In Dnipropetrovsk region UNHCR has delivered 2,200 blankets to IDP Coordination Center ‘Dopomoga Dnipra’ for further distribution. In Zaporizhzhia region, UNHCR delivered 300 school kits for IDP children in Primorsk and . UNHCR Partner NGO ‘Crimea’ SOS continue to delivering food, NFIs and clothes to IDPs in Kyiv, Kherson and regions. • People in Need (PIN) signed contracts with suppliers for roofing material, glass, wood and nails to be delivered within one week. 65 most vulnerable households will be assessed with distribution beginning this week. • Caritas is still implementing glazing activities in Sloviansk and planning to increase the range of their activities in eastern Ukraine. • ADRA deployed 3 teams to Sloviansk for renovations (8 apartments, 1 house and school assembly hall were renovated after shelling). The ADRA Center in Kyiv distributes NFIs for 210 families per week and provides shelter for 10 families at the center. • Based on monetized shelter assistance, IRD opened an office in Severodonetsk in order to cover needs observed in Northern Luhansk region. • Akhmetov Foundation delivered humanitarian assistance to 49,500 persons in government and rebel-held areas. A total of 612 persons, including 146 children, were evacuated.

Gaps & Constraints: • Local authorities increasingly request assistance as charity and volunteer organization support is markedly decreasing. • Precise data on IDP presence at the district level is still not systematically available. As a result, coordination, needs identification and preparedness are seriously constrained.

United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Coordination Saves Lives | www.unocha.org Situation Report No. 16 – Ukraine | 5

Food and Nutrition Security (sector leads: Ms Lani Trenouth, [email protected] [F] / Ms. Valeriya Taran, [email protected] + 38 50 385 4990 [N]) Preparedness: • A food security expert has joined the WFP office in Kiev to provide guidance and leadership on food security analysis, cash and voucher implementation modalities, and to make targeted recommendations for future food related interventions. • An overview presentation of the upcoming Strategic Response Plan (SRP), including requirements and timelines, was provided to sector members during this week’s meeting.

Needs: • The report from the inter-agency Joint Rapid Assessment, conducted in Zaporizhzhia from 9-15 September, cited that an increasing number of IDPs depend on charitable food donations but that donations are noticeably in decline. This has translated into a severe decline of dietary quality for some IDPs, with meat and dairy virtually absent from their diet. The utilization of breast milk substitutes, as well as the early introduction of complimentary foods, also remains a problem. • The same report recommended to dramatically increase food support from the international community immediately in preparation for winter months. The elderly and small children are considered to be the most in need of food assistance. The chronically ill also require special support.

Response: • While no new distributions have been reported to the sector for this period, 3W mapping exercises are ongoing to show partner coverage in key areas. In general more actors have been operating in northern , and fewer actors are covering Luhansk and central/southern Donetsk oblasts. Gaps & Constraints: • Increased caloric needs during winter months should be taken into consideration as organizations prepare their food baskets for upcoming distributions. For example, WFP is recommending a standardized winter food basket that provides around 2,600kcal per person per day. Please contact the Sector Lead (food) for further assistance on providing a nutritionally and seasonally appropriate food security basket.

Health (sector lead: Dr. Dorit Nitzan, [email protected]; Patricia Judith Kormoss, [email protected]) Preparedness: • Decree 333 of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, regulating procurement, distribution and storage of narcotic drugs was amended is currently at the Ministry of Health. The amendments will facilitate provision of Substitution Maintenance Therapy drugs in terms of internal displacement. • The Ukrainian Center for Disease Control is updating the needs for treatment of patients with multidrug resistant TB living in conflict-affected areas.

Needs: • As of 8 October, 79,398 IDPs from Donbas area including 35,274 children sought health care. Among them, 16,433 people were hospitalized, including 6,534 children and 696 babies were born (MoH). • According to the Ukrainian Center for Disease Control, treatment for 11,600 multidrug resistant TB cases and 49,825 HIV-infected patients is urgently required. As of November there will be a lack of consumables for HIV testing and as of December there is a risk of discontinued ART treatment for children. • Vaccines, medicines and consumables for chronic diseases are needed urgently. Provision of care and medication for children with hemophilia and von Willebrand disease is the most urgent issue.

Response: • Recently distributed Interagency Emergency Health Kits (Norway Funds) was confirmed to be delivered in 23 health care facilities in Zaporizhzhia, , Donetsk, Zakarpattia, oblasts.

Gaps & Constraints: • On 10 October an ambulance was hit by gunshots at a Donetsk checkpoint killing the doctor, driver and patient. The attack appeared premeditated as it followed media messages that some medical transport were handed over to armed forces. Together with other reported cases of misuse of medical transport by military, this raises concerns of violations of humanitarian law. • Delivery of health supplies in Donbas region (especially drugs, diagnostic consumables for TB, HIV, Substitution Maintenance Therapy (SMT) and blood tests) from regional warehouses to rebel-controlled areas remains limited, resulting in no follow-up of the patients.

United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Coordination Saves Lives | www.unocha.org Situation Report No. 16 – Ukraine | 6

3 • Health care for HIV infected and MDR TB patients is either cut off from centralized health care provision or not operational due to the outflow of medical staff 4. The Regional TB dispensary was reportedly robbed. Infants under 18 months born by HIV-infected women in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts have not been provided with early HIV diagnosis since July 2014. • Outbreak surveillance in conflict areas is still not fully established but no increase in infectious diseases cases has been registered. • So-called “health care system reform” by rebels is ongoing in Donbas region and has resulted in the reduction of health care facilities and the assignment of new head doctors. • The procurement of the drugs and supplies for the treatment and management of diseases under the state programs such as TB, HIV, child oncology, diabetes remains unmet because of failure of the tendering.

Protection (sector leads: Mr. Ilija Todorovic, [email protected]/ Ms. Fiona Frazer, [email protected]) Preparedness: • Population movements associated with new IDP registration, registration for social payments and/or receipt of humanitarian assistance, and returns to areas of origin have continued in anticipation of winter, the new IDP registration system that links registration with financial benefits, lack of housing in some regions and the ceasefire stabilization of the conflict zone. • According to reports on the ground, IDPs willing to take part in the upcoming parliamentary elections have not experienced any difficulties with the simplified registration system. Voter registry departments report statistics of IDPs registering in comparison with the local population are not very high. This may be associated with the small number of IDPs compared to the local population and/or their uncertainty whether they want to vote. • The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) continued to monitor casualties, detentions, enforced disappearances, torture, ill-treatment, reprisals and access to basic social services in the conflict area.

Needs: • Child protection agencies are reporting girls and boys have started to collect metal to sell as scrap which raises immediate and serious concerns of UXO. A mine and UXO awareness campaign is needed in areas in and around the conflict zone. • No sizeable exchanges of detainees between the Ukrainian Government and armed groups took place during reported period. According to various estimates, 500-600 people remain in detention of the armed groups. • Allegations of ill-treatment of detainees by the Ukrainian Government and armed groups, including beating, threats of death, other humiliating and degrading treatment, and lack of access to medical and legal assistance, continued to be reported.

Response: • The Working Group on Child Monitoring was established to investigate ‘smart’ technology for real time feedback and monitoring of child protection issues. • Protection working groups have been established in Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia regions to help facilitate the coordination of protection responses on the ground under the umbrella of the Protection Sector WG based in Kyiv. • The HRMMU followed a number of cases of detention by Ukrainian law enforcement agencies and by armed groups.

Gaps & Constraints: • Employment challenges persist related to requirement for demonstration of work record booklets to cancel employment in the place of permanent residence affected by the conflict. This is an obstacle for IDP re- employment and access to unemployment assistance. A new ministerial instruction is being drafted to resolve this problem. • Crossing the administrative border between Crimea and mainland Ukraine remains difficult. Ukrainian border guards reportedly create obstacles for foreigners and Ukrainian citizens to enter mainland Ukraine citing a special order of the Ukrainian Border Police. Cases are being collected for intervention by the Ombudsman’s office. • Relatives of detained people often do not have information about their whereabouts.

3 Slavyansk, Mykolayivka, Krasnyi Lyman, Olexandrivskyi region, Konstantynivka, , Kramators'k, Mariupol, Severodonetsk, , Rubizhne. 4 , Shakhtars’k and Krasnyi Lyman.

United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Coordination Saves Lives | www.unocha.org Situation Report No. 16 – Ukraine | 7

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (sector lead: Mr. Rudi Luchmann, [email protected] +38 50 312 9915) Preparedness: • The situation with water supply in some villages remains difficult. Shelling damaged both Prikanalnaya and Gorlovskaya filter stations. The water supply at Kirov pumping station only works during the day; therefore people in Kirov city receive about half of the required amount of water. Shahtersk city residents receive less than 30%. The situation with water supply in remains unchanged, at this point in the city is receiving approximately 20% of the required amount of water. • Authorities are working to restore the high-voltage lines that supply power to the South Donbas pumping station. There is currently no water supply to 10 towns in the surrounding area.

Needs: • Residents in Avdeyevka, Krasnogorovka, Yasinovataya, and nearby villages do not have water supply. Local authorities have been unable to restore the Donetsk filtration station due to ongoing insecurity. • Approximately 30 % of Donetsk remains without central supply and gas.

Response: • After long negotiations and continuous search for local partners, UNICEF and sector partners managed to deliver over 500 hygiene and family kits to the city of Donetsk. Having received financial support from ECHO, UNICEF has launched the procurement of additional 1,200 adult hygiene kits, 680 family hygiene kits and 1,200 baby hygiene kits. This will boost WASH sector response to the children and families in need. • UNICEF together with cluster partners has brokered the delivery of five tons of water to schools in Luhansk in collaboration with the Agency for Sustainable Development of Luhansk.

Gaps & Constraints: • The delivery of drinking water and hygiene supplies remains a huge challenge for humanitarian community. General Coordination

• OCHA has reached an agreement with the Government of Ukraine to facilitate the registration of incoming INGOs in support of their rapid deployment of humanitarian personnel and activities. Please contact OCHA Kyiv should your organization require information or support with registration or otherwise have any challenges with the implementation of humanitarian programs. • The NGO Forum meets every second Tuesday. The next meeting is scheduled for 21 October at 10:00 am at People in Need (PIN). This meeting alternates with the OCHA-NGO Forum, next scheduled for 28 October at 10:00 am at OCHA. • Regular sector meetings are being held in Kyiv and the field. Please click here for the meeting schedule.

Background on the crisis

In April 2014, armed groups in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine (Donetsk and Luhansk) began to seize buildings and arms. As a result of ongoing fighting between armed groups and government forces, as well as the events which occurred in the Autonomous (ARC) in March 2014, people have been forced to flee their homes and have become increasingly vulnerable as the conflict intensified and spread. Those staying in Donbas region, particularly in areas affected by fighting, face imminent security threats due to military activities by all parties to the conflict that are increasingly concentrated in densely populated urban areas. Provision of basic services has been disrupted, supplies are increasingly limited, and an upsurge in lawlessness has occurred. Ongoing daily ceasefire violations continue to be reported, despite the 5 September Ceasefire and 19 September nine-point Memorandum agreed in . Indiscriminate shelling and continued insecurity are placing conflict-affected people and humanitarian actors at risk.

The displaced population has significantly increased since early June 2014. To date, 415,078 people have reportedly been displaced and 427,004 people have reportedly fled to neighbouring countries. Of these, 369,229 have sought refuge in Russia. Most have left with few belongings and are in need of shelter, food and non-food assistance, placing pressure on neighbouring regions.

For further information, please contact:

Marcel Vaessen, Head of Office, Kyiv I [email protected] I +380 965 227509 Alexis Zoe Porter, Humanitarian Affairs Officer, Kyiv I [email protected] I +380 986 731 013 Jake Morland, Desk Officer, New York I [email protected] I +1 212 963 2066

OCHA Ukraine Situation Reports are available at: http://reliefweb.int/country/ukr .

To be adde d or de leted from this situa tion repor t maili ng l ist, ple ase e-mail: [email protected] .

United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Coordination Saves Lives | www.unocha.org