“Right now, across the country, people are facing a grim choice: flee or freeze. This week, I met families in Zaporizhzhia who fled for their lives from bombed out basements through the only crossing point on the frontline. They were shelled as they crossed. From a one-month-old to 91-year-old, they arrived cold and traumatised, but deeply relieved that they are now safe,” said Jan Egeland, NRC’s Secretary General on a visit to Ukraine.
He emphasised that humanitarians can provide the essentials people need to survive, but they must be able to access communities currently out of reach.
“We urge the Russian Federation to do their duty under international humanitarian law to provide safe passage for aid agencies into areas of active hostilities and under its control, so that the most vulnerable are not left behind. Aid workers must not be targeted or criminalised for supporting those that need it the most,” added Egeland.
Millions of people living close to the frontlines in Kharkiv, Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, Mykolaiv, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts have limited or no access to food, fuel, water or adequate shelter. Many communities in areas of active hostilities or under Russian control, have received virtually no assistance since the war began last February. Some areas, including large parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk region, will have no heat for the entire winter, according to the Ukrainian government.
This, along with the recent damage and destruction of critical energy infrastructure, could trigger new waves of mass displacement. Possibilities for safe civilian movement across the frontlines remain extremely limited. Those who choose to leave the areas outside of government control are forced to undertake lengthy, physically exhausting and costly trips across Ukraine or through Russia to get to Europe, often travelling via Belarus, Georgia, Armenia or Latvia to reach safety.
“This is a brutal conflict targeting the most vulnerable. Many civilians, including those who are sick, disabled or elderly, cannot or will not leave their homes under bleak weather conditions. They must not be forgotten and must receive aid and assistance before it’s too late,” said Egeland.
Egeland emphasised that aid organisations are bound by the humanitarian principles of neutrality, independence and impartiality. He reaffirmed that all parties to the conflict must ensure that aid workers and civilians are not sanctioned or penalised for providing or receiving aid or for humanitarian engagement.
“We call on all parties to the conflict to prioritise protection of civilians and ensure they can access the assistance they so badly need to survive this winter. The international community should issue general carve outs in sanctions regimes so that aid can get to those in need as quickly as possible, wherever they are,” said Egeland.
For more information, please contact:
- In Ukraine: Catriona Loughran, catriona.loughran@nrc.no, +47 909 25 528
- NRC global media hotline: media@nrc.no, +47 905 62329
Notes to editors:
- NRC has spokespeople available for interview in Ukraine.
- Photos and b-roll from Egeland’s visit to Ukraine are available for free use and distribution.
- Briefing note detailing NRC’s planned winterisation assistance in Central and Eastern Europe.
About NRC’s response in Ukraine:
- NRC’s response focuses on shelter support, supporting people in urban displacement outside of camps, and information, counselling, and legal assistance. We provide cash in areas where the local markets are functional, so people can make their own decisions on purchases, based on their needs, while also supporting the local economy.
- NRC is working with national Ukrainian partners, such as Vostok SOS, Luhanska Association of Organizations of People with Disabilities, the League of Business and Professional Women of Ukraine to provide stoves, blankets, and sleeping bags to families who have no access to heat, or shelter, primarily in newly accessible areas along the front line. NRC also works with Right to Protection to provide legal assistance and information to affected populations and with SSS on advocacy and strengthening IDPs’ participation in decision-making.
- NRC is also supporting the critical repair and rehabilitation of collective shelters hosting displaced people such as residential home, and community infrastructure such as schools.
- NRC’s winterisation activities are being carried out in the North (Chernihiv and Kyiv), East (Kharkiv, Donetsk, and Zaporizhzhia), West (Lviv and Ternopil), and South (Odessa and Mykolaiv) of Ukraine.
