An injured Ukrainian woman in an ambulance after a Russian glide bomb struck a residential building in Kharkiv.Image: trapezoid
The United Nations is watching with concern Vladimir Putin's destruction of critical infrastructure in Ukraine. During the cold winter months, the situation can escalate.
die Kelly Clements, United Nations Deputy Commissioner for Refugeeswarned of the consequences of possible new Russian missile attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities this winter.
“One of our biggest concerns is that energy infrastructure will be destroyed during the coldest months.”
This could lead to power and heating outages and frozen water pipes, Clements told the dpa news agency in Kyiv.
This is especially a problem for older adults who are unable to climb stairs. “People are either trapped or they think there's no way to stay without freezing to death,” she said. That would be the moment when people leave the war zone.
Why is this a problem for Western Europe?
“What happens in Ukraine has consequences for Germany as a country,” Clements said. In light of past crises such as Syria, she warned that a lack of aid could trigger new refugee flows. A new wave of westward migration has not yet been observed.
Clements praised Germany's support to date, especially to Ukraine: “Germany is our second largest sponsor and a very generous partner.” However, Ukraine currently has the equivalent of €550 million annually. The plan was only about 60% funded by the end of the year.
More than 500,000 of Ukraine's most vulnerable internally displaced people have received one-off support equivalent to €470 per family ahead of the winter. Winter plans also include purchasing generators, furnaces and thermoset plastic for broken windows.
How many Ukrainian refugees are there?
Russia's attack on Ukraine in February 2022 triggered the largest refugee flow in Europe since World War II. More than 6.7 million Ukrainians are currently resettled as refugees, mainly living in European countries.
The UN Refugee Agency estimates the number of internally displaced persons in Ukraine to be approximately 3.7 million. Before the war began, more than 44 million people lived in Ukraine. About one-fifth of Ukraine is currently under illegal Russian control.
(DSC/SDA/DPA)
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