More than two years since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion in Ukraine, the harrowing human cost of the conflict couldn’t be clearer, with thousands killed and many of the injured requiring triple or quadruple amputations, mine action experts said on Wednesday.
The wider economic cost of the ongoing fighting in one of the world’s main cereal and commodity-producing regions is enormous too, currently valued at many billions of dollars, amid rising food and fuel prices.
An increase in civilian casualties caused by intensifying attacks from the Russian armed forces against Ukraine’s electric power infrastructure and railway system calls for concern, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) said on Monday.
As deadly attacks in Ukraine continue, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on Friday that the number of children killed so far this year has increased by nearly 40 per cent compared to 2023.
Millions of women and girls saw no progress in their reproductive rights simply because of who they are or where they were born, according to the new 2024 State of World Population report, released on Wednesday by UNFPA, the UN sexual and reproductive health agency.
Agency chief Dr. Natalia Kanem spoke in depth to UN News about her main priorities, noting that women and girls are often the most vulnerable in conflict zones such as Gaza and Ukraine.
The head of the UN nuclear watchdog agency reiterated that attacks against nuclear power plants in Ukraine are “an absolute no go”, following direct military action targeting the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) on Sunday.
A $12 million contribution from a UN emergency humanitarian fund will support people impacted by the violence that broke out in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, in March.
