“Last night the residents of Odesa fell victim to yet another barrage of strikes, having endured several alerts and explosions since the first attacks in the region on 18 July, which resulted in the deaths of civilians and the destruction of homes and vital infrastructure.
“Humanitarians are struggling to safely deliver aid across Southern Ukraine, leaving thousands of people in need without access to assistance.
“Our colleagues in neighbouring Moldova are continuing to see a steady stream of people crossing the border from Southern Ukraine into community centres, with many people saying the attacks are the main reason why they decided to flee to safety.
“If these incessant attacks continue, the number of people forced to flee will only get higher across the Central Eastern European region, as exhausted Ukrainians can no longer live in fear of losing their life every time they go to bed at night.
“We urgently call upon all parties to the conflict to respect international humanitarian law and stop targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure.”
So far, NRC has provided cash assistance to almost 400 people in the area since the attacks on July 18.
Over 70,000 Ukrainians have crossed the border into Moldova since the start of July and the numbers are increasing throughout August.
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For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact:
NRC’s Regional Media Adviser for Central Eastern Europe Catriona Loughran on +47 909 25528 or email catriona.loughran@nrc.no
or contact NRC’s global media hotline: media@nrc.no or +47 905 62 329.
