Press Release

THE KILLING OF CHILDREN IS SHOCKING: DENISE BROWN, HUMANITARIAN COORDINATOR FOR UKRAINE, ON THE STRIKE IN CHAPLYNE

25 August 2022

I am truly shocked by the strikes that yesterday killed and injured civilians close to the rail station in Chaplyne, in central Ukraine.

Children were killed in this attack and they died in places where they expected to be safe, in their homes or travelling with their families. Yes, they should have been safe and they were not.

On behalf of the United Nations and the humanitarian community in Ukraine, I send our most heartfelt condolences to those who lost their loved ones, and I wish a speedy recovery to the people injured.

The human toll of the attack in Chaplyne is just one more example of the level of suffering that this war is causing the people of Ukraine. Yesterday, several other attacks across the country also killed civilians. Recent days have also seen intense shelling of frontline cities, including Nikopol and Zelenodolsk, in Dnipropetrovska oblast, where hostilities have left a path of destruction, with dozens of houses damaged, as well as schools, shops and pharmacies.

In the six months since Russia’s invasion, Ukrainians have continued to see their loved ones killed, injured and traumatized, their families separated, and their homes, schools and hospitals attacked. Yet, in times of war, civilians and civilian infrastructure must be protected.

All parties, without exception, must respect their obligations under international humanitarian law and take constant care to spare civilians and civilian infrastructure so that they are protected, their houses preserved, and essential services remain.

Dnipro, 25 August 2022

 

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For further information, please contact:

Saviano Abreu, OCHA: +380 50 422 39 43, deabreuisidoro@un.org

Viktoriya Hrubas, OCHA: +380 50 382 45 41, viktoriya.hrubas@un.org

OCHA press releases are available at www.unocha.org or www.reliefweb.int

 

Denise Brown

Denise Brown

RCO
Resident & Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine
Ms. Brown brings more than 25 years of experience in humanitarian affairs and recovery programmes, with a particular concentration on complex emergencies and a thematic focus on operations, programme development, coordination and interagency relations.

Since 2019, Ms. Brown served as Deputy Special Representative for the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA), and as United Nations Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator.

Prior to this, she worked at the World Food Programme (WFP) headquarters in Rome, first as Director of the Emergency Preparedness and Supportive Response Division and then as Director of Policy and Programmes.

From 2013 to 2016, Ms. Brown was WFP's Director for West and Central Africa, based in Dakar, Senegal, serving 20 countries. She spent most of her career in the field with WFP, covering a range of situations in Afghanistan, Iraq, Kenya, Niger, and Somalia. She has also worked with non-governmental organizations in Haiti and Cambodia. Ms. Brown has also served in New York.

Ms. Denise Brown holds a master’s degree in Children’s Development from Purdue University in the United States.

She is fluent in English and French.
Saviano Abreu

Saviano Abreu

UN Ukraine Spokesperson / Strategic Communications Advisor

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United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

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