Situation at check points: The Border Guard Service recorded 1,021,600 crossings of the line of contact during the month. Long queues continued to be reported by UNHCR’s partner R2P.
Winterization: Unusually cold conditions persisted throughout March; UNHCR continued with winter assistance plan distributing coal, winter-cash assistance and warm clothes.
Legal Assistance: In March, UNHCR and its partners provided primary legal assistance to more than 2,300 people.
KEY INDICATORS
4,100 IDPs and conflict-affected persons received primary legal assistance from UNHCR partners in 2018.
3,000 households in the non-government controlled area of Donetsk region received 9,000 tonnes of coal from UNHCR in 2018.
843 households in government-controlled areas received winter cash assistance in 2018.
FUNDING (AS OF 4 APRIL) USD 31.1 M requested for Ukraine
Operational Context
Following an initial decrease, ceasefire violations progressively increased during March upon the coming into effect of a recommitment to suspension of hostilities on 5 March.
Shelling targeted civilian areas including the towns of Avdiivka and Horlivka, in northern Donetsk, and the village of Sakhanka, east of Mariupol. On 26 March, the Trilateral Contact Group announced a further recommitment to ceasefire to come into effect on 30 March.
The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) reports 37 civilian casualties, including 8 fatalities, since the beginning of the year. UNOCHA published the 2017 Humanitarian Response Plan End of Year Report providing an overview of humanitarian achievements and funding. As of 2 April, there are 1,492,590 registered IDPs according to the Ministry of Social Policy (MoSP).