WITH Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine approaching its four-year anniversary, United Nations humanitarians warn that civilian suffering continues unabated as attacks on energy infrastructure, blackouts and freezing temperatures compound the crisis.
Speaking from a basement in Kherson on Tuesday, UNICEF representative in Ukraine Munir Mammadzade described the frontline city as “under constant fire,” with daily attacks destroying homes, critical infrastructure and essential services.
“I have been constantly hearing artillery shelling,” Mammadzade said, reporting another “massive, coordinated attack” on civilian and energy infrastructure overnight. The city’s children’s hospital was attacked eight times on Tuesday morning alone.
Of the roughly 60,000 children who lived in Kherson before Feb. 24, 2022, only about 5,000 remain. Those who stayed must “learn, play and sleep in basements just to stay safe,” Mammadzade said.
The region is “almost fully covered in anti-drone nets” and childhood has “literally moved underground,” he added, speaking from a UNICEF-managed child protection hub where children were playing with psychologists in a neighbouring room.
“Constant fear of attacks, sheltering in basements and isolation with limited social connections have left children struggling with the circumstances of this war, with their mental and physical health directly impacted,” he said.
Arthur Erken, the International Organisation for Migration’s regional director for Europe, reported that Ukraine remains Europe’s largest displacement crisis. Of 9.6 million people forced to flee their homes, 3.7 million are internally displaced.
In the past year alone, more than 450,000 people were displaced, many for the second or third time. Erken warned that 325,000 Ukrainian returnees could be displaced again in the coming months, with more than a third considering moving abroad.
Attacks on energy infrastructure have left families dependent on power cuts to determine when they cook, when children study and when hospitals schedule procedures. With temperatures dropping to minus 20 degrees Celsius, communities face severe shortages of heating and electricity.
“One in every three displaced households has someone living with a disability, and in more than half, someone manages a chronic illness,” Erken said.
The officials made their comments during a press briefing in Geneva as Ukrainian and Russian negotiators gathered in the Swiss city for two days of US-brokered talks.
“After four years of war, resilience alone cannot sustain families through yet another winter of blackouts and freezing temperatures,” Erken said. “Safe housing, reliable energy and essential services are not luxuries. They are fundamental to people’s survival, safety and dignity.”
