Martin Griffiths, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, said that hostilities, including missile strikes, appeared to be escalating on both sides of the front line, with civilian casualties rising to their highest levels in months.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) had verified a staggering 23,600 civilian casualties since 24 February 2022, he said, noting that the actual toll is likely to be much higher.

Against this backdrop, he outlined a slew of challenges facing the provisioning of humanitarian aid on the ground, including obstructed access to communities on the north-eastern border with the Russian Federation and near the front line, as well as attacks on humanitarian facilities. Despite such dangerous and challenging circumstances, humanitarian workers continued to deliver assistance across Ukraine with nearly 3.6 million people receiving assistance in the first quarter of 2023.

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