Ukraine faces ‘humanitarian catastrophe’ as conflict hinders aid response

Major aid agencies have suspended operations due to Russia’s worsening onslaught and fear for the lives of millions of Ukrainians desperately in need of food, water and shelter, reports Kieran Guilbert

Women feed children inside a tent set near Lviv main railway station in western Ukraine, 28 February 2022 (AFP via Getty Images)

Ukraine is facing a “humanitarian catastrophe” following Russia’s invasion, with millions of people in urgent need of food, water and shelter during a conflict that has damaged countless homes and health facilities and hugely restricted the work of international aid organisations.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes since Thursday - at least half-a-million have crossed the borders into neighbouring countries such as Poland and Hungary - while damage to roads, bridges and infrastructure has left communities across Ukraine without electricity and water or access to essential services and humanitarian assistance.

About 18 million people have been affected by the conflict in the country of 44 million, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) says, while the UN has warned that the crisis could trigger a refugee crisis with as many as five million people displaced.