March 10, 2022
Since February 24, when Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a "special military operation" in Ukraine, at least 1,424 civilian casualties have been reported in the country, including 516 killed—more than the 353 conflict-related civilian deaths recorded in the six years leading up to the invasion. Even so, UN OHCHR believes these numbers to be much higher, as casualties in some areas remain undercounted.Two weeks since the initial attack, shelling and bombing have continued throughout Ukraine, targeting additional cities and moving toward the capital. On March 9, a Russian air strike hit a children's hospital in Mariupol, despite a ceasefire agreement intended to allow civilians in the city, who had been trapped for weeks, to safely evacuate. The Russian Federation and Ukraine have both agreed on a humanitarian corridor to allow for the evacuation of civilians and delivery of humanitarian aid. The corridor is intended to be based out of Sumy in northeastern Ukraine.In the last two weeks, more than 400,000 tons of medical supplies have been delivered to Ukraine to address health needs. With women and children the majority of the fleeing population, protection risks are growing, highlighting the need for gender-based violence (GBV) and child protection services. Destruction of infrastructure has left hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians without water and electricity. Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services will need to be implemented rapidly to avoid sickness and death caused by unsafe water. And because Russia and Ukraine combined supply roughly one-third of global wheat trade, the World Food Programme also anticipates food insecurity throughout Ukraine and the globe.Since the invasion, more than 2.3 million people have fled Ukraine. Last week, Poland received the highest number of Ukrainians, with Romania following behind. As of March 10, more than 1,412,500 people had crossed the border from Ukraine into Poland, more than 84,670 people had entered Romania, 214,160 had entered Hungary, 82,762 had entered Moldova, 165,199 had entered Slovakia, 97,098 had fled to Russia and 258,844 had fled to other European countries.
