Overview
Though absent from front pages, fighting in Donbas intensified in February and early March triggering additional humanitarian concerns. Lives continued to be lost, houses and public infrastructure were damaged. The temporary closure of two checkpoints on the 'contact line' due to increased shelling resulted in a massive overflow of people and vehicles in the remaining two checkpoints with waiting periods up to 36 hours in harsh winter conditions. Hundreds of thousands of civilians, many of them pensioners, regularly cross the contact line in order to access social payment, health care and goods (410,000 in February alone). The situation improved after 20 and 22 February when both checkpoints reopened.
The Ukraine Humanitarian response plan, based on analysis of needs, targets 2.5 million among the most vulnerable of the 3.1 million people in need of humanitarian assistance, countrywide. It does appeal for the donor to generously contribute to fund activities worth USD 298 million. The key priorities of 2016 HNO are protection of civilians, unimpeded access of humanitarian community to the affected population, supply of emergency water, food and shelter, and access to critical services and markets.
Suspension of social payments for over 250,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) announced by the Government on 16 February became a new source of concern. While the Ukrainian authorities have the right to verify possible frauds, the decision to cut payments before a thorough and transparent verification exercise is unduly impacting civilians.