The humanitarian supplies had been off-loaded in Chasiv Yar, which is some 10 kilometers to the west of Bakhmut, which Russian forces are attempting to wrest control from Ukrainian troops, said the UN aid coordination office, OCHA.
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, the agency said.
According to a statement by Saviano Abreu, Spokesperson, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the convoy brought medical supplies for the remaining population in Chasiv Yar for three months, hygiene supplies for 2,000 people, food rations for 750 people for one month, and solar lamps and tarpaulins for around 750 people.
The items were provided by the International Organization for Migration, UNICEF, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the World Food Programme and WHO, the OCHA said.
Most of the 16,000 people who used to live in Chasiv Yar and surrounding communities have fled the area. Chasiv Yar was completely cut off from gas supplies more than a month ago and all water has been trucked in. Electricity is extremely limited and the only ambulatory still functioning has limited capacity due to pervasive insecurity.
So far in 2023, the UN and other humanitarian partners have sent 26 inter-agency convoys to communities living close to the front line, supporting nearly 230,000 people, the OCHA said. More than 10 of them reached communities in areas controlled by Ukraine in the Donetsk region, providing much-need items to approximately 100,000 people.
The UN and its partners will continue to make every effort to help civilians caught up in the horrors of the war in Ukraine, the UN agency said.
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