At least four people died in Kyiv and about 25 were injuredwhile thousands of apartment buildings in the city were left without heat due to the cold weather.
He the victims included a doctor who was saving others as part of an emergency services team, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said in a tweet. Four healthcare workers were injured and three ambulances were damaged.
Attacks ‘must stop immediately’: Guterres
UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in a statement issued by his spokesman that he strongly condemned the continued targeted missile and drone attacks.
“These attacks have caused significant civilian casualties and deprived millions of Ukrainians of essential services, including electricity, heat and water, at a time of acute humanitarian need,” the statement added.
“Attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure violate international humanitarian law. No matter where they occur, they are unacceptable, unjustifiable and must stop immediately.”
Millions without heating
In a social media post, UNICEF said that three children were injured in the massive attack across Ukraine that “left millions of people without heat, water or electricity.”
The agency “is further strengthening power systems to also allow for repairs and is working around the clock with local authorities to help keep critical services running for children and families.”
In the central Ukrainian city of Kryyvi Rih, aid workers distributed hot meals to affected residents and first responders, as well as providing construction materials to cover damaged apartments, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) tweeted.
A continuing “trend”
The attack came in a week in which massive airstrikes were carried out in Kharkiv in the northeast, Dnipro in the east and the Kherson region in the southeast, said Elisabeth Haslund, spokeswoman for the U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR.
“It’s really emphasizing the continuation of this trend. with the intensification of Russian attacks against Ukraine that we have witnessed on the ground for several months. And this will clearly continue until 2026,” he said. UN News.
The ongoing war, coupled with severe attacks, winter weather conditions and attacks on energy infrastructure are making the humanitarian situation in Ukraine “extremely serious,” he added.
UNHCR and its local partners have been responding with critical and life-saving emergency aid, including providing emergency shelter materials to families, psychosocial support, counseling and legal assistance for people who have lost documents or need help accessing compensation.
Support for families
The UN continues to call for an end to the large-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began on February 24, 2022. Since then, more than 50,000 civilians have been killed or injured, although the true number is likely higher.
The WHO said it has documented nine attacks on healthcare so far this year.two dead and 11 injured.
UNICEF has been in the country since before the conflict began.
It supports families in numerous ways, including working to ensure the functionality of heating infrastructure, providing solid fuel as well as winter clothing and blankets for children, rehabilitating school shelters and enabling access to clean water in areas where supply networks have been damaged or destroyed.
Last month, UNICEF launched a $350 million appeal to provide humanitarian assistance in Ukraine this year, aiming to support 4.3 million people, including 725,000 children.