UN estimates internally displaced numbers in Ukraine at 295,000

12:57, 30.09.2014 1 min read

The number of internally displaced persons in Ukraine has been officially estimated at 295,000 and they are in dire need for warm clothes and tents in the approaching winter season, the UN News Center said.

It said approximately 5 million people were living in conflict-ridden areas.

The report stated a sharp deterioration in the humanitarian situation in Ukraine and said that many residents of eastern Ukraine were suffering from a severe shortage of food, warm clothes, water and hygiene items.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said the situation was worst in the combat zone in eastern Ukraine where access was limited for security reasons and local organizations and Red Cross groups were running out of humanitarian aid.

Supplies of drinking water are limited or non-existent in some populated localities in eastern Ukraine, which urgently need water pumps, diesel generators and medical equipment.

Sanitary problems are especially pressing in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions and many populated localities there needing port-o-potties and means of disinfection.

The report stressed that urgent humanitarian aid to Ukraine was imperative.