Ukraine

The Head of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) met Thursday at the UNIFIL base in Ibl el-Saqi with the mayors and religious authorities of south-eastern towns to discuss local needs and the UN’s humanitarian support to impacted communities, including to restore stability along the Blue Line.

Nineteen months on, the United Nations is not in a position to verify claims or reports made regarding attacks on the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea, two senior officials told the Security Council today, as many delegates — while condemning attacks against civilian infrastructure and calling for accountability — cautioned that any politicization or speculation on this case is detrimental to revealing the truth.

Following the official installation of the Transitional Presidential Council in Port-au-Prince today, the Secretary-General reiterated his call for the swift deployment of the Multinational Security Support Mission in Haiti to assist the Haitian National Police in addressing the dire security situation in the country.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugeess (UNHCR) today launched its Climate Resilience Fund, seeking to raise $100 million by 2025 to boost the protection of refugees and displaced communities who are most threatened by climate change.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk today jointly sounded the alarm on the new asylum law and plans to transfer asylum-seekers from the United Kingdom to Rwanda, calling for practical measures instead to address irregular flows of migrants and refugees.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that ongoing hostilities in Gaza, the destruction of roads and the prevalence of unexploded ordnance continue to pose significant risks for humanitarian workers. These challenges are also impeding the movement of aid supplies across the Gaza Strip.

The Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine today condemned the latest wave of deadly strikes across the country, including in the northern city of Chernihiv. According to Ukrainian authorities, the attacks killed and injured civilians, including children, and damaged homes and a hospital.

In Cameroon, the United Nations and its partners today launched the Humanitarian Response Plan jointly with the Government, seeking $371 million to assist 2.3 million people. Last year, the appeal was less than one third funded.

In the wake of recent attacks on Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant — Europe’s largest — the head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog warned the Security Council today that the first-ever war to be fought amid the facilities of a major nuclear power programme is bringing the prospect of nuclear accident “dangerously close”.

Western countries’ provision of military assistance to Ukraine is intended to support that country’s self-defence against the Russian Federation’s aggression, their representatives told the Security Council, refuting Moscow’s argument that such aid is turning Kyiv into a terrorist State.