“Since October, the barrage of attacks against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure have created a new level of need that affects the entire country and adds to the needs caused by the war”
Attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure are causing “a new level of (humanitarian) need” for the population, the head of the UN humanitarian agency warned today, fearing further displacement of residents without heating in the middle of winter.
“Since October, the barrage of attacks against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure have created a new level of need that affects the entire country and adds to the needs caused by the war,” Martin Griffiths told the UN Security Council.
“The scale of the damage to electricity and heating infrastructure requires enhanced support to the Ukrainian government, beyond what humanitarian agencies can provide,” the UN official added, noting that “millions of people” lack heating, electricity or water as the mercury is expected to drop to -20°C.
“In Ukraine today, the ability of civilians to survive is threatened.”
In these circumstances, as 14 million people have been displaced by this war (6.5 million inside Ukraine and 7.8 million are refugees in other European countries), “we see the risk of new movements,” Martin Griffiths warned.
Russia “is now using winter as a weapon of war”, complained the French ambassador to the UN Nicolas de Riviere.
The UN humanitarian agency appealed last week for a record amount of money to be raised for 2023 in the face of growing humanitarian needs due to the conflict in Ukraine and climate change.
“It’s an appeal to raise a record amount of money and it’s going to be difficult to raise,” Martin Griffiths commented today, citing a “world gone mad” with “one in 23 people” in need of humanitarian aid on the planet.
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