Ukraine

In Ukraine, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, along with five United Nations agencies and some non-governmental organizations, were in Kherson today to assess the impact of the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam and coordinate the humanitarian response with local organizations and authorities.

The destruction of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant dam in Kherson — the most significant incident of damage to civilian infrastructure since the start of the Russian Federation’s invasion of Ukraine — will have grave and far-reaching consequences for thousands of people in southern Ukraine, the United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator warned the Security Council today, as he updated the 15-member organ on the Organization’s response efforts.

The International Renewable Energy Agency, United Nations Statistics Division, World Bank and the World Health Organization released a report showing that basic energy access is lagging even as renewable energy use is growing, with 675 million people still without electricity and 2.3 billion still relying on harmful cooking fuels.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) today released its monthly Food Price Index for May, which said that world food commodity prices declined amid significant drops in quotations for most cereals, vegetable oils and dairy products.

The Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine condemned today new attacks on Kyiv this morning, which killed civilians including one child. This sadly coincides with the country marking Ukrainian Children’s Day.

Today, on World No Tobacco Day, under the theme “Grow food, not tobacco”, the World Health Organization (WHO) is urging Governments to stop subsidizing tobacco farming and support more sustainable crops that could feed millions.

Avoiding a nuclear accident at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant — the largest nuclear power station in Europe — is possible, the Head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) stressed to the Security Council today as he outlined, to that end, five concrete principles to ensure that plant’s nuclear safety and security.

In Yemen, the Food and Agriculture Organization, United Nations Children’s Fund and the World Food Programme warned today that nearly all districts under the Government control are facing high levels of food insecurity. They said that far more programme investments and money is needed until the end of the year.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) today warned that at least 573,000 children under the age of five are at risk of suffering from malnutrition in Malawi. UNICEF noted that the country is still grappling with the devastation caused by Tropical Cyclone Freddy, with over 650,000 people internally displaced.

Preventing the diversion of arms transferred to Ukraine is essential for security and stability in that country and beyond, a senior United Nations disarmament official told the Security Council today, as members alternately called for dialogue over proliferation or underscored Ukraine’s right to defend itself from the permanent member that requested the meeting.