During the reporting period, the fighting and shelling continued in the east and south of Ukraine, with multiple civilian casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure reported. Meanwhile, in the Russian Federation, the partial mobilization was announced on 21 September, and the so-called referendums on joining Russia were scheduled to take place between 23 and 27 September in the non-Government-controlled areas (NGCA) of Luhanska and Donetska oblasts, as well as in parts of Zaporizka and Khersonska oblast invaded after 24 February. At the same time, humanitarian access in the areas of Kharkivska oblast back under the Government of Ukraine’s control has notably improved, allowing humanitarian organizations to organize several aid convoys.

The most-intensive fighting continued to take place in Donetska oblast, where nearly 100 civilian casualties were reported just over the three-day period (16, 17 and 18 September)– 47 in Government-controlled areas (GCA) of the oblast, including in Bakhmut, Kostiantynivka and Kramatorsk, and 51 in NGCA, including in the cities of Donetsk, Horlivka and Makiivka. More civilian buildings, such as houses and schools, were also reportedly damaged by shelling, including the Kramatorsk Hotel in the centre of the Government-controlled city. And on 19 September, shelling in the centre of Donetsk city and in two other settlements was reported to have resulted in the deaths of 10 people and injuries of 13 more.

Still in eastern Ukraine, deadly shelling was reported in the newly accessible areas of Kharkivska oblast, including north of Kharkiv and along the international border with the Russian Federation. Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported that four health-care workers were killed in shelling on 18 September while evacuating patients and residents of a psychiatric hospital in the village of Strilecha, located at the border with the Russian Federation. Before the shelling began, some 30 people had been reportedly evacuated, with 600 more waiting to be evacuated when the security situation permitted. Later, on 21 September, the Governor updated that all the patients and residents of a hospital were evacuated to Kharkiv, including with the support of the Ukrainian Red Cross Society. Separately, on 20 September, the Governor reported that two civilians had been killed and nine more, including four children, injured in Hrushivka, south-east of Kharkiv. And, also in the east, there were reports of renewed fighting and shelling in Luhanska oblast, such as on 19 September when seven civilians, including three children, were reported to have been killed in Krasnorichenske, just east of the borders with Kharkivska and Donetska oblasts.

Hostilities continued to be reported elsewhere, also resulting in civilian casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure – including energy infrastructure. Four civilians, including two children, were reported to have been killed on 16 September in Kherson, located in the NGCA of the southern Khersonska oblast. It was reported that missile strikes on 19 September in and around Government-controlled Zaporizhzhia, in the south-eastern Zaporizka oblast, caused damage that included electricity infrastructure and resulted in power disruptions.

On 19 September it was reported that hostilities had affected one of Ukraine’s four nuclear power plants (NPPs), when operator Energoatom said that there had been a missile strike just 300 metres from the South Ukraine NPP in GCA of the southern Mykolaivska oblast. Meanwhile, regarding Zaporizhzhia NPP (ZNPP) in NGCA of Zaporizka oblast, on 15 September, the 35-nation Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) adopted a resolution highly critical of the ongoing presence of the Russian Federation Armed Forces and Russian authorities at the plant – and calling for “the competent Ukrainian authorities to regain full control over all nuclear facilities within Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders, including ZNPP, to ensure their safe and secure operation.” In a separate update on 19 September, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossisaid the situation at ZNPP remained “fragile and precarious” while adding that “today’s explosion near the South Ukraine NPP all too clearly demonstrates the potential dangers also at other nuclear facilities in the country – any military action that threatens nuclear safety and security is unacceptable and must stop immediately.”Two days later, on 21 September, Energoatom reported that shelling had again directly impacted the Zaporizhzhia plant – damaging communication equipment and causing the emergency start-up of safety systems.

The Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) verified, as of 18 September, at least 14,532civilian casualties – with 5,916 people having been killed and 8,616 injured. Among those killed were 2,306 men, 1,582 women, 188 boys and 156 girls – and among the injured were 1,810 men, 1,327 women, 259 boys and 187 girls. Most civilian casualties continued to be recorded and verified in the eastern Donetska and Luhanska oblasts – 56 per cent or a total of 8,222 casualties, including 3,540 people killed and 4,682 injured. HRMMU also stressed that it believes the actual figures are much higher.

News during the week involved the reported discovery of an improvised burial ground containing at least 440 bodies in the city of Izium in the newly accessible areas of Kharkivska oblast. At least some of the people buried there were reportedly believed to have been civilian victims of shelling and air strikes in the first weeks of the war – while at least some were said to have been shot. The UN Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) was reported saying on 16 September that UN investigators “would be looking to see if those buried were soldiers or civilians and whether they had died in hostilities or from natural causes.”

There were also reports of multiple civilian casualties this week resulting from landmine explosions in the areas of Kharkivska oblast back under Ukraine’s control. The Governor reported that six people were injured in three separate incidents just on 18 September, and he called on residents to be extra careful. A humanitarian security report also recommended that aid workers follow the instructions of local authorities when visiting the newly accessible areas, have mine-awareness training and wear personal protective equipment.

Concerning the damage to infrastructure caused by the war in other parts of Ukraine, the UN Satellite Centre (UNOSAT) published a series of maps on 15 September. A map of Mariupol in NGCA of Donetska oblast shows that when the city is divided into cells using a satellite imagery-based Rapid Damage Building Assessment (RDBA), 22 per cent of the cells sustained visible damage. A map of the Azovstal steel plan in Mariupol indicates that 75 per cent of the structures there sustained damage. An RDBA map of Donetsk city indicates that well under 1 per cent (0.17) of the cells sustained damage. North-west of Kyiv, in the northern Kyivska oblast, 27 per cent of the cells in an RDBA map of Bucha contain damaged buildings, 58 per cent of the cells in an RDBA map of Hostomel indicate damage, and 71 per cent of the cells in an RDBA map of Irpin also indicated damaged structures – while only 1.4 per cent of the cells in an RDBA map of the western part of the capital, Kyiv, show damage. Separately, the REACH Initiative and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) on 14 September published an infographic assessment on the risk of flooding following the missile strike that damaged the Karachunivske Reservoir dam near Kryvyi Rih in Dnipropetrovska oblast earlier that day.

Ukraine’s Energy Ministry updated 20 September that, even while work continues to restore power supplies disrupted by the war, approximately 773,000 households and businesses across Ukraine currently remain without power. The Ministry confirmed that most of those without electricity are in the eastern Donetska (about 415,000 users), Kharkivska (144,000) and Luhanska (128,000) oblasts, followed by the southern Mykolaivska oblast (30,000). And the Energy Ministry added that almost 600,000 users across Ukraine currently lack gas supply, including some 357,000 in Donetska oblast. And the International Rescue Committee (IRC), in a 13 September press release, confirmed conclusions – that between the ongoing hostilities, damaged infrastructure and limited utilities – the coming winter will be especially hard for Ukrainians.

On displacement, Ukraine’s Ministry for the Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories reported on 18 September that, over the last month, approximately 82,000 people were evacuated from some of the most war-affected parts of Donetska, Kharkivska, Khersonska, Mykolaivska and Zaporizka oblasts. The Ministry credited over 20 volunteer groups and NGOs – including Helping to Leave, Help People, Proliska and Vostok SOS – with having supported the evacuation efforts, and it said that the most vulnerable people had been prioritized.

According to the latest International Organization for Migration (IOM) Area Baseline Report (Round 11) published on 15 September, Dnipropetrovska, Kharkivska and Kyivska oblasts have the highest numbers of displaced people, each hosting over 300,000 registered internally displaced people. Of the total number of internally displaced people, the majority have been displaced from Donetska, Kharkivska and Luhanska oblasts. A decrease in the numbers of registered internally displaced Ukrainians has also been observed in several western oblasts: Ivano Frankivska, Lvivska and Zakarpatska. And IOM said this reflects de-registrations by locally registered internally displaced people and is likely due to them returning to their habitual residences or resettling elsewhere. But evacuations continue from the east and south of Ukraine and are expected to pick up speed as winter approaches. IOM also highlighted that the numbers presented in this report likely represent an undercount of those who were forced to flee their homes. Overall, within Ukraine, nearly 7 million are estimated to be internally displaced, while another 7.4 million have sought refuge abroad.

On 8 August, the UN and partners released the revised Flash Appeal for Ukraine, covering the period between March and December 2022. Under the revised Flash Appeal, humanitarian organizations seek US$4.29 billion to support 11.5 million people in need, which is a 90 per cent increase in the financial requirements compared with the previous revision carried out in April.

As of 21 September, humanitarian organizations in Ukraine received 66 per cent of the $4.29 billion requested in the ten-month Humanitarian Flash Appeal. Some 68 per cent of the funding received has come from the United States ($1.25 billion), the European Commission ($293.8 million), Germany ($175.4 million), Japan ($118.4 million) and Canada ($87.1 million). In addition, business contributions from 482 private sector donors to the humanitarian response in Ukraine have reached over $1.6 billion.

The Ukraine Humanitarian Fund (UHF) has been an essential source of funding for relief operations in the country. Since 24 February, the UHF has allocated $117 million to 67 projects implemented by 40 partners nationwide, cumulatively targeting 5 million people, focusing on the eastern and northern parts of the country. Some 19 per cent of the funds have been allocated directly to 11 national organizations, which are implementing at least 21 projects close to the front lines, supporting some of the most critically vulnerable people. The remaining 43 per cent of funding was allocated to 21 international NGOs and 37 per cent to 8 UN agencies.

On 1 September, the UHF launched its first 2022 Standard Allocation of $70 million. This is the largest single Allocation launched since the creation of the Fund in 2019. The 2022 Standard Allocation will kick-start prioritized activities under the revised Humanitarian Flash Appeal, including time-critical winterization assistance. These funds will allow partners to support internally displaced people, including evacuees, returnees and other vulnerable people on both sides of the front line directly impacted by Russia’s war on Ukraine. Projects from national organizations and organizations supporting local Ukrainian partners on the front lines will be prioritized for funding, as will those that aim to address the needs of people with disabilities, older people and vulnerable women. More information about this Allocation and deadlines is available here. Information about different Allocation modalities is also available here.

Since the beginning of the year, donors and partners have contributed nearly $224.2 million to the UHF, helping those most affected by the war, including $204.8 in pad contributions and $19.4 in pledged contributions. The biggest donors to the UHF in 2022 have so far been the United Kingdom ($42 million), Canada ($31 million), Germany ($28.9 million), the Netherlands ($22 million) and the United States ($20 million).

• PROTECTION FROM SEXUAL EXPLOITATION AND ABUSE (PSEA) Humanitarian aid is free! If someone asks you to pay, do something inappropriate or perform any favour or sexual action in exchange for help, say no and email seareferral@un.org or call our partner hotline 0-800-309-110 / 0-800-30-77-11 / 0-800-331-800

• FOR NGOs For more information on how to engage in the Ukraine humanitarian response, contact Mario Trutmann at trutmann@un.org.

• HUMANITARIAN NOTIFICATION SYSTEM (HNS) For more information on the HNS, please contact Ivane Bochorishvili at bochorishvili@un.org.

• FOR PRIVATE SECTOR While humanitarian aid is needed urgently, OCHA urges companies to refrain from sending unsolicited donations that may not correspond to identified needs or meet international quality standards. Donors are encouraged to send financial/cash donations rather than in-kind donations. However, for businesses wishing to contribute in-kind goods or services, please reach out to (OCHA) with as much detail as possible, including what you wish to donate and how much, your time frame for delivery, details on shipping and any other conditions. We will then guide you to the most appropriate recipient organization(s). For more information, please contact Karen Smith, OCHA’s Private Sector Engagement Advisor, at ochaers-ps@un.org.