UN refugee agency alarmed by 'worsening situation' in Ukraine’s Kharkiv as war continues

By Beyza Binnur Donmez

GENEVA (AA) - The UN refugee agency on Tuesday said it is "extremely worried" about the "worsening situation" in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region and a spike in humanitarian needs and forced displacement amid a “new ground offensive” by the Russian forces.

UNHCR spokesperson Shabia Mantoo told a UN press briefing in Geneva that "relentless" aerial attacks continue, "prolonging and exacerbating an already dire situation."

Noting that an air attack targeting a recreation area in Cherkaska Lozova village in Kharkiv region killed six people and injured at least 27 others last week, Mantoo said.

She added that more than 10,300 people were evacuated from their villages in the Kharkiv region’s border areas by Ukrainian authorities with the help of volunteers and humanitarian organizations.

She said that the majority of the evacuees had to escape their homes with only a few belongings and they are already "highly vulnerable and include mainly older people and those with low mobility or disabilities who were not able to flee earlier."

To receive and support many of the evacuees, a transit center was set up in Kharkiv city, she added.

"UNHCR is concerned that conditions in Kharkiv – Ukraine’s second-largest city, which is already hosting some 200,000 internally displaced people – could become even more difficult if the ground offensive and relentless aerial attacks continue," she said. "This could force many to leave Kharkiv for safety and survival, seeking protection elsewhere."

The spokesperson stressed that Kharkiv was under an air-raid alert that lasted for 16 hours without interruption last week. Moreover, she said, the attacks on energy infrastructure that are affecting people across Ukraine are particularly "critical" for Kharkiv, where energy supplies are already "well below standard capacity," affecting households, production capacity and the economy.

Mantoo called on donors to maintain robust and flexible funding as UNHCR’s response in Ukraine is just 16% funded from a total of $598.9 million required.

She underlined that this response also includes support for the winter response "as the comprehensive damage to energy facilities is estimated to significantly increase the need for humanitarian assistance during the cold season."