Situational overview: The security situation in eastern Ukraine deteriorated in the first half of December, with more than 26,000 ceasefire violations recorded.
Protection concerns: The protection environment remains difficult due to harsh winter conditions; UNHCR began implementation of its winter assistance plan.
Assistance provided: In December, UNHCR provided winterization, non-food items (NFIs), and emergency shelter assistance to more than 22,000 people.
KEY INDICATORS
57,460 IDPs and conflict-affected persons reached through NFI assistance from UNHCR and partners in 2017.
33,000 IDPs and conflict-affected persons received legal assistance from UNHCR partners in 2017.
3,450 Households in eastern Ukraine received UNHCR shelter assistance in 2017
FUNDING (AS OF 2 JANUARY)
USD 37.6 M requested for Ukraine
INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS (IDP) AND CONFLICT-AFFECTED PERSONS
1.8 million
ASYLUM SEEKERS FROM UKRAINE
Update on Achievements
Operational Context
In mid-December, the security situation in the Eastern Conflict Area (ECA) saw a significant increase in ceasefire violations, with OSCE reporting over 26,000 ceasefire violations during a one-week period. During 18-19 December, shelling targeted civilian residential areas and utility infrastructure in both Luhansk and Donetsk regions, causing at least nine civilian casualties, damaging 52 homes, a kindergarten, a cultural centre, a clinic, and disrupting electricity supplies to a water pumping station and cutting water supplies to some 15,000 people in the area. Heavy shelling of the village of Novoluhanske, in the government-controlled area (GCA) of Donetsk region, led to the displacement of an unconfirmed number of the village’s 3,700 inhabitants amid freezing weather conditions to the nearby towns of Bakhmut and Svitlodarsk. In December, the State Border Guard Service (SBGS) recorded some 1,084,350 crossings of the line of contact. UNHCR is working with the Ministry of Temporarily Occupied Territories and IDPs, and SBGS to winterize five checkpoints on the GCA side of the line of contact. UNOCHA’s Humanitarian Snapshot provides an overview of the humanitarian situation