More than 73,000 people in Kharkiv oblast have now received food assistance, which is almost half of the population in the occupied areas.
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
“Our access to these areas comes after months of intense fighting,” it said OCHA Spokesperson Jens Laerke. “Nearly 140,000 people are believed to still live in towns and villages and settle in areas where control has changed, but they have very limited access to food, water, gas, electricity and medical services”.
Izium is exhausted
In the town of Izium, 8,000 to 9,000 people remain there “totally dependent” on humanitarian aid to survive, Mr. Laerke continued.
An OCHA spokesperson explained: Markets and shops were destroyed or closed, and families “gathered in the main town square” to exchange property and supplies to meet basic needs. their.
‘Frequent’ fighting in Kupiansk
Farther north and on the edge of the Luhansk oblast, the town of Kupiansk today is home to 4,000 people, compared with a pre-war population of 28,000.
“States of war and fighting are still frequent there,” OCHA reported, adding that aid convoys have delivered food, water, essential household items, medicine and medical services to Izium and Kupiansk, where volunteer groups have also met.
In addition to food assistance, OCHA coordinated the distribution of 12,000 sanitary and kitchen sets, solar lights and blankets to 15,000 people.
Human Rights Council appoints top human rights investigator on Russia
And also on Friday, the UN Dong Nhan Quyen Association voted to appoint a top rights investigator in Russia on Friday, though the vote was not unanimous.
Due to concerns about systematic repression against rights defenders and journalists in Russia, some countries supporting the appointment of the Special Rapporteur also condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
In response, Russia rejected the vote results – 17 in favor, 6 against and 24 abstentions – and dismissed it as a political move to punish the country for pursuing its independence agenda.
