UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said access to the town had been extremely difficult due to persistent hostilities. Of the roughly 10 000 people who lived there before Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, only about 500 remain, most of them older people and persons with disabilities.
According to Ukrainian authorities, fighting between Tuesday and Wednesday morning resulted in several civilian deaths and injuries, including among children. The regions of Donetsk, Dnipro, Sumy and Kherson recorded the heaviest attacks.
In the Zaporizhzhia region, strikes damaged a hospital and a preschool, while thousands of residents were left without heating, highlighting the growing strain on essential services as freezing winter conditions continue.
In the town of Bohodukhiv in Kharkiv region, a Russian drone strike shortly after midnight destroyed a family home, killing a father and his three young children. The father had a disability, and the children were aged one, two and seven, according to humanitarian workers.
Olena Labzeva from the Humanitarian Mission Proliska said the family home was completely destroyed. A neighbour who heard the explosion pulled the children’s pregnant mother from the burning rubble. She remains in the hospital in a critical physical and psychological condition.
While the conflict shows no sign of easing, UN agencies are supporting longer-term recovery efforts. The UN Development Programme said it has facilitated the removal of one million tonnes of debris since the start of the invasion, restoring safe access to over 200 public sites and enabling reconstruction at more than 1 600 heavily damaged locations, including residential neighbourhoods, schools and hospitals.
Direct damage to Ukraine’s buildings and infrastructure was estimated at $176 billion by the end of 2024. The scale of debris remains one of the principal obstacles to reconstruction and the return of displaced residents.
The war continues to place severe pressure on Ukraine’s health system. Repeated strikes on energy infrastructure have disrupted electricity, heating and water supplies, making it harder for health workers to care for pregnant women and newborns during harsh winter conditions.
According to the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), medical teams have reported power outages during complex surgical procedures. Doctors are also seeing a rise in high-risk obstetric emergencies, including hypertension and uterine rupture, which reflect a maternal health system strained beyond capacity.
Preterm births are rising sharply in frontline areas. Just under 12% of babies are now born prematurely in these regions, almost double the national average.
UNFPA is supplying maternity hospitals with emergency energy backups and critical reproductive health supplies. The agency has appealed for sustained international support to protect women, infants and healthcare workers as the war enters another year with no political resolution in sight.
–UN/ChannelAfrica–
