Military and Diplomatic Highlights:
· As of February 26th, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights recorded 21,580 civilian casualties (8,101 killed and 13,479 injured) in the country.
· The Ukrainian military is reporting the following Russian losses:
o 153,120 Soldiers (Wounded or Killed)
o 3,414 Tanks
o 6,692 Armored vehicles
o 2,426 Artillery
o 302 Aircraft
o 289 Helicopters
o 2,071 Drones
· The United Kingdom’s (UK) has so far trained 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers.
· The UK Ministry of Defense is reporting the following:
o The Ukrainian defense of the Donbas town of Bakhmut is under increasingly severe pressure, with intense fighting taking place in and around the city.
o Regular Russian Army and Wagner Group forces have made further advances into the northern suburbs of the city, which is now a Ukrainian-held salient, vulnerable to Russian attacks on three sides.
o Ukraine is reinforcing the area with elite units, and within the last 36 hours two key bridges in Bakhmut have been destroyed, including a vital bridge connecting the city to the last main supply route from Bakhmut to the city of Chasiv Yar.
o Ukrainian-held resupply routes out of the town are increasingly limited.
· On March 3rd, the United States transferred military equipment worth up to $400 million to Ukraine. This latest military package included:
o Additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems
o 25mm ammunition
o 105 mm and 155 mm artillery rounds
o Armored vehicle-launched bridges
o Demolition munitions and equipment for obstacle clearing.
· The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) remains concerned over the artillery fire around the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant. This fire resulted in the temporary loss of the last back-up power lines last weekend.
· The IAEA reported on March 2nd, the successful rotation of staff at the Zaporizhzhya plant.
War and Atrocity Crimes Investigations Highlights:
· A Joint Investigation Team has been established to investigate Russian crimes in Ukraine. This group consists of the following nations and organizations:
o Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine
o Poland
o Estonia
o Latvia
o Lithuania
o Slovakia
o Romania
o U.S. Department of Justice
o International Criminal Court’s (ICC) Office of the Prosecutor
· On March 4th, an agreement was signed that created the International Center for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression in Ukraine. The center will likely be fully operational this summer.
· On the February 28th, the ICC Prosecutor visiting sites in the southern part of the country relevant to allegations of deportation of children.
· The International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) signed an agreement with the Government of Canada on February 28th:
o The Canadian government will be providing $1.3 million for a one-year project to support Ukraine in locating missing persons and investigating their disappearance following the Russian invasion.
Humanitarian Impact and Response and Recovery Highlights:
· There are 8.1 million refugees recorded across Europe and 5.4 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Ukraine.
· A total of 14 million people has been reached with humanitarian aid.
· On March 2nd, a Russian missile attack struck a residential building in Zaporizhzhia:
o The attack killed 13 civilians and 11 people were injured.
o The UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine visited the site and stated again Civilians are not a Target. Her video message is available here.
· On March 3rd, a UN relief convoy delivered relief supplies to 4,500 IDPs in the Kherson region.
· The Ukraine State Emergency Services reported that two of their personnel were killed on February 27 and 28:
o The shelling attack on February 27th, occurred in the Khmelnytskyi region and killed one first responder and injured four others.
o On February 28th, a fire and rescue unit were hit by a missile attack in the Kramatorsk district of Donetsk region. A junior sergeant of the civil defense service was killed.
· As of February 24th, the Ukrainian Red Cross has received $183,000 in monetary donations. If you wish to donate, you can do so via PayPal.
· On February 28th, the Ukrainian Red Cross delivered five tons of relief supplies to the Sviatohirsk community.
· Healthcare and Public Health Update:
o The World Health Organization (WHO) has verified 760 attacks on healthcare, with close to 700 attacks impacting health facilities.
o The situation is particularly dire in areas close to the front line, or areas recently retaken by the Government of Ukraine. In these areas most health facilities are not functioning, and the people who stayed behind (elderly, persons with low mobility, and those with physical disabilities) have complex needs that the health system is struggling to meet under the current circumstances.
o WHO has supported the procurement and distribution of equipment, reagents, and consumables for the microbiological testing of drinking water in the oblasts most affected by the war. This will allow for the rapid testing of many drinking-water samples and ensure reliable results.
· Emergency Telecommunications Cluster (ETC) Update:
o The continued attacks on national infrastructure across Ukraine have led to significant damage to the telecommunications infrastructure, resulting in severe communications blackouts across the country.
o Several reports have been received of severe disruptions to satellite telephony services in areas close to the frontlines.
o On February 17th, the ETC successfully completed the setup of the Remote Security and Information Operations Centre (RSIOC). The RSIOC system allows UN security officers based in Mukachevo to monitor the radio networks in Dnipro, Kyiv and Odesa and communicate with UN staff in the field.
· Black Sea Grain Initiative Update (March 3rd):
o 785 Outbound Voyages carrying 23 million tons of commodities.
o 43% of the wheat shipped has been too lower-income countries.
Russian Dis-information Campaign Highlights:
· The Russian Federation is trying to disguise the forced deportation of Ukrainian children as compassion. Here is the factcheck.
· There is a viral video that is circulating on Twitter that Ukraine’s President said that Americans would have to fight and die in Ukraine. This video has been shared by U.S. politicians and media personalities. The video is fake, here is the factcheck.
· Russian dis-information outlets are attempting to sow distrust and anxiety to increase pressure on Moldova. Here is the factcheck.
Cultural Heritage Protection Highlights:
· The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as of March 1st has verified damage to 245 sites, this includes:
o 106 Religious sites
o 20 Museums
o 88 Buildings of historical and/or artistic interest
o 19 Monuments
o 12 Libraries
· On February 27th, the Conflict Observatory and the Smithsonian Cultural Rescue Initiative reported potential damage to over 1,600 Cultural Heritage sites. This analysis is available here.
Sources:
· WHO Ukraine Crisis Response (January 2023 Bulletin)
· Ukraine ETC Situation Report #20 (Reporting period: 01/02/2023 to 28/02/2023)
· Ukraine: Civilian casualties as of 24:00, 26 February 2023
· Ukraine Data Explorer
· Damaged cultural sites in Ukraine verified by UNESCO
· OCHA Ukraine Twitter Page
· Ukrainian Ministry of Defense Twitter Page
· Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine Twitter Page
· Ukraine State Emergency Services Twitter Page
· Ukrainian Red Cross Twitter Page
· ECHO Twitter Page
· United Kingdom Ministry of Defense Twitter Page
· U.S. Department of Defense Twitter Page
· PolyGraph Info Twitter Page
· EU East Stratcom Task Force for Disinformation Review Twitter Page
· International Commission on Missing Persons Twitter Page
· International Criminal Court Twitter Page
· Smithsonian Cultural Rescue Initiative Twitter Page
Resources
Ukraine Response 2022 - DTM Regional Analysis: Displacement and Cross-Border Movements of Third-Country Nationals from Ukraine to Neighbouring Countries and in Europe (March - December 2022) (New)
1 year of EU solidarity with Ukraine (New)
U.S. Department of Defense, Support for Ukraine (New)
American Alliance of Museums, Resources to help Ukrainian Museum Colleagues (New)
UN Refugee Agency, Ukrainian Refugee Operational Data Portal
Centre for Humanitarian Data, Ukraine Data Explorer
Humanitarian Logistics Association, Ukraine Crisis Information Website
ACAPS Ukraine Analysis Hub
UKRAINE- HEALTH CLUSTER ACTIVITIES Dashboard
U.S. Department of State, Disinformation Website
Alliance For Securing Democracy War in Ukraine Dis-Information Dashboard
National Democratic Institute Disinformation Coordination Hub
International Fact-Checking Network, #Ukraine Facts
Monetary Donations
· UN Refugee Agency Donations
· UN Migration Agency Donations
· UNESCO Paypal Account
· WHO Foundation, Ukraine
· Center for Disaster Philanthropy, Ukraine
· Ukrainian Government United 24