The World Health Organization (WHO) recently detailed three things that Ukrainian civilians must prioritize to survive the upcoming winter, as the nation’s war with Russia continues to rage.
“In just 10 days from now, we will mark 8 months of relentless war in Ukraine,” WHO Regional Director for Europe Dr. Hans Henri P. Kluge said on Friday. “The escalation of the humanitarian emergency requires an escalation of the humanitarian response. Let me clearly state: WHO is there to stay—to stay and support the Ministry of Health, under the leadership of Health Minister Dr. Viktor Liashko, and to stay and support our more than 150 health partners on the ground.”
The remarks by Kluge come amid the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine where fighting has continued in numerous different parts of Ukraine. Kluge noted in his remarks that this week, Russian military forces attacked “Kyiv, Dnipro and other cities nationwide,” which include large civilian populations.
Kluge went on to detail three key aspects of the upcoming winter that Ukrainian civilians must prioritize, beginning with “responding urgently to the damage done by the latest attacks on health.” According to WHO, since the war between the two nations began in February, the health agency has confirmed 620 attacks on health.
Carl Court/Getty Images
“The second priority is attending to the immediate health needs of people in the newly accessible areas back under Ukrainian control. We must find ways to respond to the magnitude of physical and mental suffering endured by these populations,” WHO said.
WHO went on to state that the third priority is preparing for “significant challenges” that are expected to come during winter. “Too many people in Ukraine are living precariously, moving from location to location, living in substandard structures or without access to heating. This can lead to frostbite, hypothermia, pneumonia, stroke and heart attack,” WHO said.
“The coming brutal winter could prove particularly dangerous for vulnerable people—including the elderly, patients with chronic conditions, and those needing maternal and neonatal services, especially given the current reality of low coverage with vaccines against COVID-19 and other illnesses.”
According to WHO, wintertime challenges could also result in a exodus of Ukrainian civilians as fighting and cold weather affect the nation. The health agency also noted that countries who accept Ukrainian refugees will also face a greater strain on health-related services with a possible increase in patients.
While speaking with Newsweek this week, Seth Jones, director of the International Security Program and the Transnational Threats Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, explained a possible change in Ukraine’s ongoing counteroffensive in the coming months.
“If the Russians can find kind of defensible, geographic locations and are able to put enough fire power down to slow the Ukrainian advance…it’s not inconceivable as we get into the winter that the Ukrainian counterattack starts to stall for a range of geographic and military reasons,” Jones told Newsweek.
Newsweek reached out to WHO for further comment.
