UN agencies and entities have underlined their continued support to Ukraine, as Wednesday marked six months since the start of the devastating war in the country.

 Matilda Bogner, head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, called for greater efforts to spare and protect civilians.

The mission has been in the country since 2014, when it began work documenting violations stemming from the fighting in the east between government forces and mostly pro-Russian separatists.

Ms Bogner said the resulting escalation of the eight-year-long armed conflict had brought more deaths, suffering, damages, and destruction.

“Every day, we speak with people affected by the war and hear about and document violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, including war crimes,” she said in a statement.

Since the start of the Russian invasion on February 24, there have been 13,560 civilian casualties, with 5,614 deaths, including 362 children and 7,946 people injured.

Most casualties, 92 per cent, were caused by explosive weapons with wide area effects in populated areas.

The mission has also documented 327 cases of arbitrary detention and forced disappearance in territory controlled by Russian forces and affiliated armed groups, and while 105 victims were released, 14 persons – 13 men and one woman – were found dead.

Additionally, 39 arbitrary arrests were recorded in Ukrainian government-controlled territory and 28 other cases that may amount to enforced disappearance.

“Many of these victims, on both sides, have faced torture,” Ms Bogner said, who underscored that “human beings, whoever they are, must be treated with dignity.”

She added that prisoners of war also must be protected, as guaranteed under international laws.

Throughout the war, the World Food Programme (WFP) has been using every opportunity to assist people within Ukraine and beyond. WFP has disbursed more than $200 million to internally displaced Ukrainians, while some 11,000 families in neighbouring Moldova are receiving cash transfers to cover additional expenses for hosting Ukrainian refugees.

Overall, nearly seven million people have found shelter in European countries, according to the UN refugee agency, UNHCR.

WFP reported that within days of the start of the conflict, staff began serving ready-to-eat meals and distributing bread to people in Ukraine. Kits containing items such as meat or beans, sunflower oil, pasta and rice are also being provided to families wherever food is unavailable or difficult to access.

Before the war, Ukraine was a major global breadbasket and produced enough food to feed 400 million people yearly.

WFP has been working with the government and partners to push for and facilitate grain exports through key Black Sea ports and alternative land river routes.

Last week, the first shipment of Ukrainian grain for the agency’s operations left the port of Pivdennyi in Odesa and is now on the way to the Horn of Africa, where the spectre of famine haunts more than 20 million people.

Amid the ongoing global food crisis, WFP explained that allowing the export of Ukrainian grain is critical to stabilise global markets and alleviate hunger, but it also has direct benefits for Ukrainians.

The agricultural sector is an essential component of the economy and a direct livelihood source for many of the 13 million citizens living in rural areas. 

(NAN)