Update on Security Council Meeting Addressing Ukraine Crisis

In today’s Security Council meeting, Joyce Msuya, Acting Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, reported on the dire situation in Ukraine, highlighting incessant attacks on civilian areas since June. Recent missile strikes have devastated key energy infrastructures and critically impacted children’s and women’s hospitals in Kyiv and other cities. These attacks resulted in 27 civilian deaths, including four children, and 117 injuries. The healthcare system, already strained, is struggling to function without electricity, forcing makeshift medical care in harsh conditions.
Msuya condemned these deliberate assaults on protected medical facilities as war crimes, stressing their part in a broader pattern of attacks on civilian infrastructure since early 2024. The World Health Organization has documented nearly 1,878 such incidents since February 2022. These attacks have left millions without essential services like electricity and water, with 14.6 million Ukrainians now in need of humanitarian aid.
Despite the hostile environment, the UN and local partners have provided aid to 4.4 million people in the first four months of 2024. Msuya appealed for increased donor support to sustain these efforts, especially with winter approaching and no end to the conflict in sight. She called for adherence to international law to alleviate the ongoing humanitarian crisis.