Ukraine: ICRC delivers much-needed aid to civilians near Bakhmut
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) delivered much-needed humanitarian assistance to Kostiantynivka and Chasiv Yar, two locations close to Bakhmut, where the fighting has been particularly intense for several weeks. Another ICRC convoy reached Selydove, a locality close to the frontline.
As the convoy moved closer to Kostiantynivka, Chasiv Yar, and Selydove, the extent of destruction in the area became evident. Homes, hospitals, schools, and infrastructure have sustained heavy damage. The humanitarian situation is dire for those who have not fled, and the constant hostilities prevents them from accessing the most basic services.
“We have a lot of elderly people. They really need assistance, especially because they have low pensions. This help is very important. Hygiene products are very expensive now for pensioners, and stores in our areas don’t get stocked. We don’t have any opportunity to visit the nearby town because there is no bus to go there,” said Daniil, a 19-year-old man living in a nearby village.
As a direct consequence of the current hostilities, the humanitarian needs of civilians around the frontline keep rising. Most people who could leave have already been evacuated. Around 10% of the population of Kostiantynivka are internally displaced people from neighbouring villages who are temporarily settled in the city, while only 1,500 civilians are left in Chasiv Yar and some 800 in Selydove. Those are mainly elderly, low-mobility, or people with disabilities, as well as civilians who refuse to leave their homes or have been displaced from frontline villages.
The ICRC convoy brought to Kostiantynivka and nearby villages more than 1,500 hygiene kits containing essential supplies like soap, shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrushes, sanitary pads, and shaving kits, as well as 800 solar lamps and hundreds of blankets for residents and displaced people. In Selydove, 17 tons of food – including rice, pasta, canned goods, and other supplies – and one ton of hygiene items were delivered. Local officials estimate that the food supplies will be enough to feed civilians remaining in this community for a month. 6,000 litres of drinking water were provided to Chasiv Yar, which local authorities expect will serve the needs of people there for 10 days.
The ICRC is supporting humanitarian hubs in Kostiantynivka and Chasiv Yar, where displaced people from Bakhmut and other frontline cities stay before continuing their journey to safer areas. Since September, these hubs have been provided with food parcels, hygiene kits, water tanks, heating material, and generators to ensure that they can properly welcome people fleeing the moving frontline.
The ICRC is deeply concerned by the situation in Bakhmut and nearby communities around the frontline and the deep civilian suffering caused by constant military hostilities. “It is a really difficult situation here; it’s loud and scary. Yesterday a rocket flew over our heads. We are not living but surviving,” said Nikolai, a resident of Verolybivka.
The ICRC appeals to the belligerents to respect international humanitarian law, notably by allowing humanitarian aid in and ensuring that civilians under their control have access to assistance and that those not part of the fight are protected from targeted attacks wherever they are.
For more information, please contact:
Oleksandr Vlasenko, ICRC Kyiv (Ukrainian, English), +380 95 262 80 23, ovlasenko@icrc.org
Jesus Serrano, ICRC Kyiv (English, French, Spanish, Italian) +380 95 262 84 22, jserranoredondo@icrc.org
Achille Després, ICRC Kyiv (English, French, Italian), +380 50 324 31 80, adespres@icrc.org
SHOT LIST
Length:
Date Of Filming: 16 March 2023
Camera: Veronika Lobanska / Jesus Serrano Redondo / Achille Després
Editor: Francisco Pavon
Copyright: ICRC access all
On Screen Credit: ICRC written or logo
SOUNDBITE:
00:00 – 00:36 Images from destroyed houses and damaged infrastructures in Rubtsi and Drobysheve, Lyman, Donetsk region. ICRC convoy entering Lyman village to deliver humanitarian aid on 06.03.2023.
00:37 – 01:04 People from Lyman picking up wood briquettes and humanitarian aid delivered by ICRC.
01:05 – 01:21 ICRC convoy entering Konstyantynivka, a city 25 km from Bakhmut.
01:22 – 01:28 ICRC staff is unloading boxes which are contained humanitarian aid, such as food and hygiene items, blankets, and solar lamps. Air raid alerts sound in the background.
01:29 – 02:16 Anna Golubtsova, representative of the Bakhmut territorial community in Donetsk region speaks to the camera.
Anna: “We have been working for a long time with the ICRC, even when our residents were still in Bakhmut till November. The ICRC delivered food, hygiene items, and medicine to all our citizens at that time. A lot of people from Bakhmut have fled to different parts of our country. More than 200 families are here, in Kostiantynivka, including children, which equals almost 500 people. They need hygiene items and food.
02:17 – 02:23 Local residents in Kostiantynivka cooperate with the unboxing of aid relief delivered by ICRC to the humanitarian hub in the city.
02:24 – 03:12 Tetiana Malko, a resident from Bakhmut who was evacuated to Kostiantynivka, speaks to the camera.
Tetiana: “When we were evacuated, we didn’t have any clothes, only those we were wearing at the time, nor any blankets or hygienic products. It was important for us. The house where we were settled in had nothing. We were living with four families in one house and sleeping on the floor with no heating. There are nine people in our family. There are four families in one family. It’s like a commune. We live like that because everybody has lost their homes; some kids lost their parents who were killed in Bakhmut or refused to leave.
3:13-3:28 ICRC convoy heading to Novodmitrovka, Donetsk region.
3:29-33:46 Novodmitrovka residents approach the local distribution centre on bikes and walk with trolleys to pick up the aid relief delivered by ICRC.
3:47-3:54 ICRC staff unloading aid relief boxes to the distribution center on Novodmitrovka.
3:55-4:25 Villagers of Verolyubivka and Bilokuzminovka, Donetsk region, most elderly, are picking up ICRC boxes with aid relief packages and returning to their homes.
04:26 – 05:12 Daniil, a 19-year-old from Novodmitrovka, speaks to the camera.
Daniil: “We have a lot of elderly people. They really need humanitarian help, especially because they have low pensions. This help is very important. Hygiene products are very expensive now for pensioners, and stores in our areas don’t get stocked. We don’t have any opportunity to visit the nearby town because there is no bus to go there.
05:13-05:17 Question: “So there are no shops, hygiene products, or food?”
05:18-05:30 Daniil: “There is only one shop for several villages here, but it’s difficult for locals to visit it, especially the elderly.”
05:31– 05:56 People inside the community distribution centre in Verolybivka pick some second-hand clothes donated by other organisations. ICRC staff and volunteers deliver boxes with humanitarian aid inside the centre.
05:57– 6:08 Images of Nikolai, a resident of Verolybivka while holding and cuddling his baby.
6:09-6:22 Nikolai speaks to the camera.
Nikolai: “It is a really difficult situation here; it’s loud and scary. Yesterday a rocket flew over our heads. We are barely surviving.”
6:23-6:36 Images of damaged houses on Selydove, Donetsk region.
6:37-6:45 An ICRC truck parking and unloading aid relief to Selydove.
6:46-7:54 Achille Després, ICRC spokesperson for Ukraine speaks to the camera
Achille: “My name is Achille and I work for the International Committee of the Red Cross in Ukraine. We are now in Selydove a community close to current frontline near the city of Vuhledar. It’s estimated that in this community, hundreds of civilians are still living. People living in these communities near the frontline are lacking the essentials. They are lacking food, they are lacking hygiene items, they are lacking water. Today with the ICRC team we brought two trucks of humanitarian assistance. We donated 1,000 food parcels to this community and each parcel can feed a person for one month. We also donated 1,000 hygiene parcels with essentials for people to stay healthy. Earlier today our teams also donated 1,500 litres of drinkable water to support healthcare centers in these communities. Thanks to the assistance that we are bringing people who are remaining in these communities under incredible difficult circumstances, many of them elderly, can continue to survive in this situation.”
7:55-8:24 Images of ICRC aid relief and fixing items delivery at Chasiv Yar, 10 km near Bakhmut on 28.02.2023. Sounds of shelling in the background.
End of loglist.
