The UN denounces that the increase in fighting in Ukraine is preventing aid from reaching those most in need

Follow live the latest news about the war in Ukraine

MADRID, 7 Apr. (EUROPE PRESS) –

The spokesman for the Secretary General of the United Nations, Stéphane Dujarric, denounced this Wednesday that the increase in clashes in Ukraine is preventing humanitarian aid from reaching those most in need.

“We have received reports of increased fighting, shelling and clashes in the Donbas region in the east, as well as in the southern provinces of Ukraine. The clashes continue to affect residential areas and damage key infrastructure,” Dujarric has warned.

Thus, he specified that this “prevents people trapped in the fenced cities from accessing vital supplies or evacuating safely” and has warned that the delivery of humanitarian aid is being affected in different parts of the country.

“Mariupol, Kherson, Mikolaiv and parts of Lugansk and Donetsk provinces are the most affected areas. In Mikolaiv, the shelling damaged a children’s hospital, an orphanage and an oncology center two days ago,” he said.

He also indicated that six million men, women and children in Ukraine “struggle every day to access water, which is an essential human need.” “4.6 million people have limited access to water or rely on unsafe sources,” she added.

Dujarric has detailed that the damage to infrastructure has left “more than 1.4 million people across the country without access to drinking water, especially in the provinces of Lugansk and Donetsk, but also in parts of Kharkov, Sumy, Chernigov and Mikolaiv.

It has also denounced that in the city of Lozova, in Kharkov, more than 60,000 people have been left without water supply and another 40,000 without electricity since April 2, after damage to infrastructure due to intense fighting.

Regarding funding, Dujarric mentioned that donors have provided “an additional $50 million to support critical humanitarian work in Ukraine.” “More funds will be needed to help people whose lives have been upended by war,” she said.

On the other hand, the United Nations Undersecretary General for Humanitarian Affairs, Martin Griffiths, is on his way to Ukraine, where he hopes to meet with senior government officials to explore humanitarian opportunities.

On a related note, Genocide Prevention Special Adviser Alice Wairimu Nderitu has expressed her dismay and condemnation at the disturbing events in Bucha, which point to “very serious indications” of possible war crimes.

At the same time, the special adviser has warned about the impact of this crisis in other regions of Europe. Specifically, it has called on all actors in positions of responsibility to strengthen prevention efforts in the Western Balkans region, since “the painful legacy of the past could be aggravated by the deteriorating dynamics associated with the current conflict in Ukraine”.