Briefing to the Security Council on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine by Ramesh Rajasingham, Head of OCHA Geneva and Director of the Humanitarian Sector Division, on behalf of Tom Fletcher, USG for Humanitarian Affairs.
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Mr. President,
Thank you for the opportunity to update on the Council on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine.
Since our last briefing on 9 December, the plight of civilians has grown more desperate, as large-scale attacks continue to push energy systems, emergency services and the very means of winter survival to the brink.
As just outlined by Under-Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo, multiple regions across the country were struck on 8 January, causing civilian casualties and widespread disruption to electricity, heating and water supplies, as temperatures dropped to nearly minus 10 degrees Celsius and below. In Kyiv, authorities reported several civilian deaths and more than 20 people injured in the attacks. Among the victims were health workers and first responders assisting those affected: one health worker was killed, while five rescuers and four health workers were injured after coming under repeated strikes. Since the start of the year, the World Health Organization has reported eleven attacks on health care in Ukraine, resulting in two deaths and 14 injuries.
What makes these attacks especially devastating is that they cripple the systems that keep civilians alive during winter.
Power, heating and water infrastructure have been repeatedly struck in major urban areas, including Kyiv, Odesa, Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, and Kryvyi Rih, leaving hundreds of thousands of people without electricity, heating or water for prolonged periods. With winter conditions intensifying, each damaged substation, heating pipeline or pumping station triggers cascading failures that put even more lives at risk.
In Kryvyi Rih, families are melting snow for washing and cooking. They are also heating water over candles after power cuts lasting more than a day.
In Kyiv, more than 1,200 heated safe spaces are operating, and state emergency services and our humanitarian partners have established an additional 68 heating points in the most affected neighborhoods, offering people a place to warm up, charge phones and reconnect with loved ones amid blackouts.
Mr. President,
Civilians continue to be evacuated under dangerous conditions. Continued hostilities and repeated strikes on residential areas are forcing people to flee front-line communities.
In recent days, evacuations have continued from Donetsk Region, including a high proportion of children, older people and those with limited mobility. On arrival in safer areas, many have urgent needs for shelter, medical care, protection and winter assistance.
Our humanitarian partners continue to deliver whenever access allows. Emergency support – including shelter materials, winter assistance and health services – is being provided in Kyiv and other impacted cities and towns. However, humanitarian access remains constrained in some front-line areas due to active hostilities, damaged infrastructure and security restrictions, delaying or suspending operations where needs are most acute.
For civilians in occupied parts of Ukraine, humanitarian organizations have limited information about needs arising from ongoing fighting and winter conditions. The humanitarian community stands ready to support civilians in need wherever they are, including in the occupied areas of Ukraine, but we must have unimpeded humanitarian access and sustained funding.
Mr. President,
As the escalation of hostilities in Ukraine soon enters its fifth year, 10.8 million people in Ukraine urgently need humanitarian assistance. Tomorrow (Tuesday, 13 January), the United Nations and our humanitarian partners, in consultation with the Government of Ukraine, will launch the 2026 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan, which seeks US$2.31 billion to deliver life-saving assistance to 4.12 million people facing the most severe needs. Under the Humanitarian Reset, the response in Ukraine is sharply focused on those most at risk, particularly along the frontline, including civilians affected by displacement and repeated strikes on essential infrastructure.
Mr. President,
We must reiterate that international humanitarian law is unequivocal. Civilians and civilian objects, wherever they are, must be protected, and constant care must be taken to spare them. Indiscriminate attacks, including those causing disproportionate incidental death or injury to civilians or damage to civilian objects, are strictly prohibited. Strikes on residential areas and energy systems raise serious concern about compliance with these fundamental rules of war.
I urge Members of this Council to act decisively — use your voice, your influence and your engagement — to ensure these three things:
First, that civilians - everywhere - are protected.
Second, that safe, sustained and unimpeded humanitarian access to civilians in need is facilitated. When support is delayed or suspended, the consequences are immediate and severe.
Third, that humanitarian action is funded in line with the scale of needs through the hyperprioritised Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan, so that essential life-saving assistance can continue.
Mr. President,
Civilians who are enduring these attacks need more than statements of concern from this council. They need concrete action to reduce civilian harm and ensure that humanitarian support continues to reach people when they need it most. Thank you.