After 500 days of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, civilians continue to be killed and injured. Yesterday, in yet another attack, several civilians were reportedly killed and injured while receiving humanitarian aid in the front-line town of Orikhiv in the Zaporizhzhia region. A drinking water distribution point installed and maintained by a partner of the UN’s Ukraine Humanitarian Fund was also destroyed in the attack.
The people in Orikhiv have been living under constant bombardment for many months. When I visited Orikhiv on Orthodox Christmas earlier this year, I met people forced to spend most of their days in shelters.
As I have said many times, and I will continue to say, international humanitarian law is clear: civilians, civilian infrastructure and humanitarian assets must be protected. And investigations of these violations must take place.
The people of Ukraine need our support more than ever. We will continue to help those most in need.
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Kyiv, 10 July 2023