Ukraine: Humanitarian Impact Situation Report of 18 March 2022

• Now in its fourth week, the ongoing military offensive has already caused 2,149 civilian casualties, including 816 killed, according to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). The actual figures are likely much higher as fierce clashes continue across the country.
• Nearly 6.5 million people have been forcibly displaced within Ukraine, adding to the almost 3.3 million and counting who have fled the country since 24 February. Combined, the number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and those who have fled to other countries amount to around 9.8 million people – more than 23 per cent of the country’s population.
• On 18 March, the first UN-organized convoy, including relief items from the international non-governmental organization (INGO) People in Need (PIN) and four UN entities (UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), World Food Programme (WFP) and World Health Organization (WHO), reached Sumy (Sumska oblast, north-east). The convoy delivered 130 tons of much-needed medical supplies, bottled water, ready-to-eat meals and canned food for 35,000 people as well as essential equipment for the repair of water systems that will help improve access to water for some 50,000 people.
• The situation in Mariupol (Donetska oblast, east) continues to deteriorate. The city’s Deputy Mayor Serhii Orlov says that the estimated death toll of more than 2,350 people is likely as much as two times higher. Mariupol’s City Council reports that around 80 per cent of the city’s housing stock has been affected by ongoing hostilities, with nearly 30 per cent estimated to be damaged beyond the point of repair.
• In the southern city of Mykolaiv (Mykolaivska oblast, south), Human Rights Watch claims that cluster munition rockets – which are subject to an international treaty ban on account of their widespread indiscriminate effects and the long-lasting dangers they pose to civilians – were repeatedly fired into the densely populated city on three separate occasions between 7 and 13 March, causing several civilian casualties and damaging homes, businesses and other civilian infrastructure.

Read full report here.