The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said on Monday it was “dismayed and deeply saddened” by a “tragic and deadly” attack on the community of Siversk, in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, in the east of the country.
This attack began while partner NGO Proliska was distributing life-saving aid to residents, in collaboration with local authorities, on January 9. Two residents who had just received aid, a 67-year-old woman and a 55-year-old man, were killed in the bombing.
Karolina Lindholm Billing, UNHCR Representative in Ukraine, said in a statement that the charity’s representatives had to interrupt the distribution and later resume it in a safer area of the city. She also noted that more than 50 humanitarian workers had been killed or injured in 2024.
“Attacks against civilians and aid workers must stop. They constitute a violation of international humanitarian law. It is absolutely imperative that we, our partners and other humanitarians have access to Ukraine and can continue our work, providing crucial and life-saving humanitarian assistance to those who need it most.”and highlighted by Karolina Lindholm Billing.
These latest developments come as civilians continue to bear the brunt of war, with at least 12,000 dead since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, according to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). ). More than 50 humanitarian workers were killed or injured in the exercise of their duties last year in Ukraine. In the last four months alone, food distribution sites have been targeted 19 times.
For its part, the UN humanitarian branch (OCHA) recalls that aid agencies continue to encounter difficulties in accessing civilians near the front line in Ukraine. In 2024, more than 300 incidents involving the security of aid workers were recorded, hindering the delivery of aid to those who need it most.
The approximately 600 people who live in the town of Siversk, around ten kilometers from the front line, find themselves in very difficult conditions, without electricity, water, gas and connection. Working closely with local authorities, UNHCR and its partners provided basic assistance to the population in the form of blankets, sleeping bags, quilts and jerry cans.
