Some 13 months of the worst fighting and attacks on civilians since Russia’s massive invasion of Ukraine began, have left millions displaced, with critical civilian infrastructure in urgent need of protection.
Ensuring nuclear safety
Travel around the area Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power PlantRafael Mariano Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the nearby city of the same name, to discuss ongoing threats.
Critical nuclear safety inspection and security situation, Mr. Grossi underlined the Urgent need to protect plant power during the ongoing war in the country.
IAEA teams are rotating in and out of the plant, which is under the control of the Russian military.
“Despite being in place for seven months now, the situation at the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant is still precarious,” he said.
Nuclear safety and security risks are obvious, he warned.
It is necessary “to act now to prevent an accident with potential radiological consequences to health and environment for people in Ukraine and beyond”, he emphasized.
Mr. Grossi said his trip to Ukraine was also targeted ensuring regular rotation of IAEA experts to and from the site is maintained and improved, following the very difficult conditions that the experts faced during the previous rotation in February, which has been delayed by a month.
During the current visit, he was accompanied by a new team of IAEA experts, the seventh such team in place since the IAEA Support and Assistance Mission to Zaporizhzhya was established.
Mr. Grossi and Mr. Zelenskyy also visited the Dnieper hydroelectric station, which is a key element for nuclear safety at the Zaporizhzhya plant.
“I decided to continue to do everything in my power to help reduce the risk of a nuclear accident during the tragic war in Ukraine,” said Mr. Grossi.
IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi met with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine on March 27, 2023.
Bomb-sheltered classrooms
From February 2022, thousands of schools is reported to be worse damaged or destroyed by bombing and shelling, leaving almost 2.7 million Ukrainian children income online education or through hybrid methods, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has said.
At the end of a three-day visit to Kyiv, Irpin, and Demydiv, Hollywood star and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Mr. Bloom said that education can and must be an issue for children in wartime, where ethnic An estimated 1.5 million children in Ukraine are at risk of depression, anxiety, and others mental health conditionsalong with long-term.
“Amid the chaos and uncertainty of war, the support of children education is an important tool secure their long-term mental health and well-being,” he said. “Above all, Children need an end to this war and lasting peace to reclaim their childrenget back to normal and start healing and recovery.”
In Irpin, a town heavily affected by the early days of the conflict, he visited her bomb-shelter classroomthat changed with the support of UNICEF, to provide a safe place for children to continue learning when air traffic sirens can sound.
Safe places
Some of the children I have met, such as Hanna, a 10-year-old from Volnovakha, Donetsk region, have been born. limited access to face-to-face learning for more than a year,” said Mr. Bloom.
At Spilno Child Spots of UNICEF in Irpin and Kyiv, Mr. Bloom saw children playing and learning. They can also benefit from psychosocial support, medical checks, and referrals to specialized services. He also met with President Zelenskyy to discuss education challenges amid the conflict.
“While UNICEF is helping ensure that children are able to learn online, they are still available miss the important experience of interacting with their students and teachers, “Mr. Bloom said. “Especially for young children, these conversations are key for their emotional and cognitive development and cannot be replaced by a computer screen.”
UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Orlando Bloom meets children affected by the war in Ukraine.
Needs grow
By 2022, more than 500,000 children and their guardians will visit 180 Spilno Spots across Ukraine. Over the past year, UNICEF has provided education, health, food, water and sanitation, and protection assistance to children and families affected by war, including efforts in refugee-hosting countries to Ukraine.
UNICEF continue to deliver to children in Ukraine and in neighboring countries and $1.05 billion is needed to meet the growing needs of 9.4 million peopleincluding 4 million children, who are deeply affected by the war.
Security Council rejects new action on oil pipeline explosions
On Monday, the UN Security Council rejected a draft resolution that would have been authorized International independent research commission into the explosion in September last year, of the Russian-operated Nord Stream gas pipelines.
Brazil, China, and Russia voted for the nomination, with no one voting against it, and 12 Council members were withdrawn.
Two Nord Stream pipelines built to transport natural gas from Russia to Europe under the Baltic Sea, sustained millions of dollars in damages from the explosions. National investigations have not yet produced any conclusive evidence as to how the explosions happened.
Nord Stream I transported gas to Germany from Russia until Moscow cut off supplies last August, while the second pipeline was idle, after Germany suspended its involvement in the project shortly before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine .
The commission had debated the issue in February, noting that investigations were ongoing by governments in the region.
