A statement from Dominik Stillhart, the director of operations for the ICRC.
“People living in eastern Ukraine know something that many others in the world have forgotten: There is an ongoing, active conflict in the country that continues to inflict heavy humanitarian consequences on people’s lives and well-being, their homes, and essential infrastructure. And this has been going on for close to eight years.
Ukraine may again be a top headline, but it never stopped being one for the people suffering through the fighting. We support hundreds of thousands of people living close to the line of contact who regularly suffer from disrupted access to medical care, food, water, heating and electricity, but also to education, social services and livelihood opportunities. Thousands of people, civilians and those fighting, have been killed, injured, detained or separated from their loved ones. Hundreds of people are still searching for their missing loved ones.
Civilians and infrastructure ensuring the delivery of essential services must be spared, families must be able to see and support each other, and detainees must be treated humanely, in line with what international humanitarian law demands in all armed conflicts.”