As the convoy approached Kostiantynivka, Chasiv Yar and Selydove, the extent of destruction in the area became apparent. Homes, hospitals, schools and infrastructure have suffered significant damage. The humanitarian situation is dire for those who have not fled, and ongoing hostilities hamper access to the most basic services.
“There are many older people who really need assistance, especially because their income is low. This help is very important. Hygiene products have become very expensive for retired people, and businesses in our areas are not stocked. We do not have way to get to the nearest town because there is no bus that goes there,” said Daniil, a 19-year-old man who lives in a surrounding village.
As a direct consequence of the current hostilities, the humanitarian needs of the civilian population in the vicinity of the front line continue to increase. Most of those who could leave have already been evacuated. About 10% of the population of Kostiantynivka has been internally displaced from surrounding villages and has settled temporarily in the city. At the same time, only 1,500 civilians remain in Chasiv Yar and around 800 in Selydove. These include mainly older people, people with reduced mobility or disabilities, as well as civilians who refuse to leave their homes or who have been displaced from front line towns.
The ICRC convoy has brought more than 1,500 hygiene kits containing essential items such as soap, shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrushes, sanitary napkins and shaving kits, as well as 800 sunlamps and hundreds of blankets to Kostiantynivka and villages in the area for residents and displaced persons. In Selydove, seventeen tons of food – rice, pasta, preserves and other products – and one ton of hygiene items were delivered. According to estimates by local officials, the products are enough for the civilian population that remains in this community to feed themselves for a month. In Chasiv Yar, 6,000 liters of drinking water were delivered. The local authorities hope that they can cover the needs of the population for ten days.
The ICRC is supporting the humanitarian centers in Kostiantynivka and Chasiv Yar, where displaced people from Bakhmut and other front-line cities are staying before continuing their journey to safer areas. Since September, these centers have received boxes of food, hygiene kits, water tanks, heating materials and generators to be able to adequately receive people fleeing the front line, which has been on the move.
The ICRC is deeply concerned about the situation in Bakhmut and in the communities close to the front line, and about the enormous suffering of the civilian population as a result of constant military hostilities. “The situation here is really difficult; it is loud and scary. Yesterday a rocket flew over our heads. We are not living, we are surviving,” said Nikolai, a resident of Verolybivka.
The ICRC calls on the warring parties to respect international humanitarian law, notably by facilitating access to assistance for civilians under their control and by protecting against deliberate attacks by persons who are not part of the clashes, wherever they are.
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More information:
Oleksandr Vlasenko, ICRC, Kiev (Ukrainian, English), +380 95 262 80 23, ovlasenko@icrc.org
Jesus Serrano, ICRC, Kiev (English, French, Spanish, Italian) +380 95 262 84 22, jserranoredondo@icrc.org
Achille Després, ICRC, kyiv (English, French, Italian), +380 50 324 31 80, adepres@icrc.org