STATEMENT BY THE HUMANITARIAN COORDINATOR FOR UKRAINE, DENISE BROWN, ON THE ATTACK THAT HIT A HUMANITARIAN FACILITY IN CHASIV YAR
23 July 2023
I condemn in the strongest terms the attack that today damaged a cultural centre that had been serving as a humanitarian facility in Chasiv Yar, in the Donetsk region. The strike rendered inoperable a place where humanitarians, health workers and volunteers provide civilians in this front-line community with the aid and services they desperately need. It is outrageous that Russian forces appear to be repeatedly targeting civilian infrastructure in Ukraine.
No one was injured as it happened in the middle of the night. However, vital relief items and medical supplies were destroyed, and humanitarian and health services will be impacted.
This is, unfortunately, the fourth attack impacting humanitarian assistance in Ukraine in July alone, following tragic incidents that damaged aid facilities and assets in the Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions.
Civilian infrastructure, including humanitarian facilities, is protected under international humanitarian law. Facilities providing health services, including those that have been set up for medical purposes, have special protection. It must be respected.
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Kyiv, 23 July 2023
Saviano Abreu
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