Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine, Ms. Osnat Lubrani, calls for the protection of critical civilian infrastructure in eastern Ukraine

I welcome the unanimous adoption of Security Council Resolution 2573 (27 April 2021) on the protection of civilians in armed conflict. I find it timely for a Security Council Resolution to place a primary focus on the destruction of critical civilian objects for the first time as we observe a worrying increase in attacks that affect vital civilian infrastructure in eastern Ukraine.

This Resolution strongly condemns attacks in armed conflicts directed at civilian objects in violation of international humanitarian law. It demands all parties in armed conflicts to ensure that civilians and civilian infrastructure, including that which provides the essential services to the civilian population, are not targeted during attacks. In addition, the Resolution strongly condemns the denial of humanitarian access to people in need of assistance and urges all parties to protect civilian infrastructure, which is critical to the delivery of humanitarian aid, including for the provision of vaccinations and related medical care.

It is lamentable that hardly enough is currently being done to adequately protect critical civilian infrastructure in eastern Ukraine. Over the past few days, we witnessed several grave attacks targeting civilian infrastructure in the Donetsk region causing damage to a hospital as well as critical water infrastructure, which risks cutting off water supply to 1.1 million people on both sides of the “contact line”.

In line with Security Council resolution 2573 (2021), I urge all relevant actors to fully comply with their obligations under international humanitarian law. Strengthening the protection of critical objects and allowing the repair of damaged infrastructure is vital for the population affected by the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

Photo: destroyed civilian objects

For more information, please contact: Lizaveta Zhuk, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Ukraine, lizaveta.zhuk@un.org, tel. +380 50 344 16 94