Ukraine: UN aid trucks reach frontline town of Chasiv Yar

A three-truck convoy of aid from UN agencies reached the Ukrainian town of Chasiv Yar on Friday, close to the most intense battle of the war on the eastern front, for the shattered city of Bakhmut. The UN aid coordination office, OCHA, said the humanitarian supplies had been off-loaded in Chasiv Yar, which is some 10 kilometres to the west of Bakhmut, which Russian forces are attempting to wrest control from Ukrainian troops. Tweet URL > Chasiv Yar, which also hosts people from Bakhmut, was completely cut off > from gas supplies more than a month ago and all water has been trucked in. > Health services are extremely limited. > > Humanitarians provided 2,000 people there with vital supplies today: > https://t.co/zplKONgAwV https://t.co/QZa7IhJbXq > > OCHA Ukraine > > OCHA_Ukraine > > March 10, 2023 After months of fighting, the mercenary Wagner Group now claims to be in control of the eastern part of the city together with other Russian forces, but Ukrainian forces reportedly continue to defend Bakhmut from total encirclement. ## **Supplies for 2,000** Briefing reporters at the regular daily press conference in New York, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said the aid convoy carried supplies for around 2,000 people, "including **medical and hygiene supplies, food, solar lamps and tarpaulins**." The aid was provided by the UN migration agency IOM, Children's Fund UNICEF, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the World Health Organization (WHO). ## **Towns emptied out** "OCHA also note that **most of the 16,000 people who previously lived in Chasiv Yar and surrounding communities have now fled** ", said Mr. Dujarric. "Chasiv Yar was **completely cut off from gas supplies more than a month ago** and all water is being trucked in. Access to electricity remains extremely limited with the **only ambulance which is still functioning, having limited capacity** due to insecurity." He stressed that the UN and it's humanitarian partners were **fully committed** to supporting civilians still living in Chasiv Yar, which also now hosts people who have fled the intense fighting in Bakhmut - the chief target of Russia's winter offensive, following its full-scale invasion of just over a year ago. Less than a month ago, the UN sent another inter-agency convoy to nearby Sloviansk to the north, with supplies to people in Soledar, Chasiv Yar and Toretsk.  © UNOCHA A UN convoy carrying aid supplies approaches Chasiv Yar, in the Donetsk region of Ukraine. ## **230,000 supported** "So far this year, the UN along with the partners have sent **26 inter-agency convoys to communities living close to the front line,** supporting nearly 230,000 men, women and children", said the UN Spokesperson. Tweet URL > Like a hymn to peace, music and culture bring us together. > > Today in #Kyiv, Herman Makarenko, orchestra conductor and @UNESCO Artist for > Peace, offered a beautiful Peace Concert, in the presence of Denise Brown > (@UN_Ukraine) and Chiara Dezzi Bardeschi (@unesco_kyiv). > https://t.co/FYDFvoz2oA > > UNESCO Kyiv > > unesco_kyiv > > March 9, 2023 More than 10 of those convoys reached communities in areas controlled by Ukrainian Government forces in the Donetsk region, providing **much-need items to approximately 100,000 people** , he added. ## **Attacks on healthcare** WHO in Ukraine reported on Thursday that they have now verified **833 attacks** on healthcare personnel and facilities since last year's 24 February invasion. "These attacks caused 101 deaths and 136 injuries", the agency tweeted. Adding that "healthcare should never be a target." ## **'Even in the darkest times'** **"Even in the darkest times, music is something that can bring relief",** tweeted the UN in Ukraine on Friday, following a concert that took place in the capital Ukraine on Thursday, despite a wave of Russian missile strikes, to mark the opening by UN culture agency UNESCO, of a new official Chair for Music. The UN-backed orchestral post sponsored by UNESCO in Kyiv, was celebrated with a "peace concert" under the baton of Herman Makarenko, orchestra conductor and a UNESCO Artist for Peace, attended by the Resident Coordinator Denise Brown.

Visit UN News for more.