Ukraine: Humanitarian Impact Situation Report - 21 March 2022

• Civilian casualties across Ukraine continue to rise. As of 20 March, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) reports 2,421 civilian casualties, including 925 killed, figures that are likely much higher. In less than a month, the confirmed civilian death toll has already reached the equivalent of 70 per cent of all confirmed civilian deaths over the last seven years of fighting in eastern Ukraine combined.
• On 19 March, an art school sheltering around 400 people was destroyed by bombing in Mariupol (Donetska oblast, east). This comes after last week’s bombing of the city’s Drama Theatre and Neptune sports centre – where more than 1,000 people had sought shelter amid ongoing hostilities. At the time of writing, the number of civilian casualties remains unclear.
• On 20 March, heavy shelling in the Podilskyi district of Kyiv (Kyivska oblast, north) reportedly left at least eight people dead and another injured. As clashes intensify in the capital and other areas of Kvivska oblast, a 35-hour curfew has been imposed across the oblast from 8:00 p.m. (EET) on 21 March to 7:00 a.m. on 23 March.
• Between 18 and 20 March, more than 13,000 people were evacuated from Mariupol. There are unconfirmed reports that people fleeing areas of the city allegedly controlled by the Russian Federation forces are being forced to evacuate towards non-Government-controlled areas (NGCA) and the Russian Federation with their Ukrainian passports confiscated. These alleged incidents of forced displacement would constitute a serious violation of the Geneva Conventions.
• Donetska oblast authorities (Government-controlled areas, GCA) say thousands who have fled the conflict-ravaged city of Mariupol now face starvation in Manhush and Melekine (Donetska oblast, NGCA), as they are once again trapped without safe passage out of locations where food and water are becoming increasingly scarce.
• As of 20 March, Donetska oblast authorities report damage to at least 10 health facilities, more than 320 educational facilities and nearly 1,110 residential buildings, among other critical civilian infrastructure damaged or destroyed.

Read full report here.