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Ukraine: Toddler among four children killed in Russia’s attacks on Kyiv

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The youngest victim of the bombing raid was two-and-a-half years old, according to the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, which released video footage showing smoke billowing from a Kyiv apartment block with a massive hole where its roof had been.

Leading condemnation of the attacks, the UN Secretary-General said that targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure violated international humanitarian law. [They] are “unacceptable and must end immediately”, followed by a ceasefire resulting in a “just, comprehensive, and sustainable peace in Ukraine”, he insisted, in a statement issued by his Spokesperson. 

Eyewitness testimony

Speaking to UN News after visiting the shattered building and its residents, UNICEF Representative, Munir Mammadzade, insisted that nowhere in Ukraine is safe today. The air-raid alert in Kyiv lasted almost 12 hours, he noted.

The senior UN official also condemned the “continuous attacks” reportedly involving ballistic missiles and drones by Russia, which launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

“I’m just back from one of the sites that were impacted, severely…and still, the search and rescue operation is continuing,” he said. “Across the city, there were four kids confirmed killed and more than 10 injured; most likely these numbers will go up.”

Media reports indicated further damage to civilian infrastructure including Ukraine’s railways. Russian attacks have also continued closer to the front line, targeting key energy infrastructure ahead of winter, Mr. Mammadzade warned.

Winter is main threat

In Kyiv and in frontline areas, plummeting temperatures are “the biggest challenge”, the UNICEF senior official insisted, in an appeal to donors and partners to support the UN agency’s winterization plan by contributing more to its Ukraine humanitarian fund, which faces a 40 per cent funding shortfall.

People within 10 kilometres (around six miles) of the front line “require immediate support”, the UNICEF official said, so that “families and children can survive and most importantly, have their livelihoods protected”.

Back to school

The development comes as the country’s children prepare to return to school against a backdrop of ever-present air-raid sirens that are “becoming kind of a norm”, even if the impact of the war on many youngsters’ mental health is as serious as it is common.

“We know that even if war ends today, [it] will be for generations to come,” Mr. Mammadzade explained, pointing to sudden mood swings linked to post-traumatic stress and feelings of hopelessness among children he has met in frontline areas including Donetsk, Sumy and Kharkiv.

“What they basically fear the most is about their lives and unfortunately, quite often, they mention to us that they don’t have dreams or any hopes,” he continued. “What they only need is peace – and this peace to happen as soon as possible – so that they can go back to normalcy.”

In his renewed call for a ceasefire, the Secretary-General insisted that it should fully uphold Ukraine’s “sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, within its internationally recognized borders, in line with the UN Charter, international law and relevant UN resolutions”.

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Gaza: Acute malnutrition among children hits record high

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In July alone, nearly 12,000 children under five were identified as acutely malnourished out of 136,000 screened, according to aid partners. 

Of these, more than 2,500 were found to suffer from severe acute malnutrition, the most life-threatening form, and 40 had to be hospitalized in stabilisation centres.

More children affected

The proportion of children with severe acute malnutrition is rising, OCHA said.  

In June and July, 18 per cent of all acutely malnourished children had severe acute malnutrition, compared with 12 per cent between March and May.

Moreover, humanitarian access constraints are adding to the crisis.

Last month, aid partners were only able to reach 8,700 of the 290,000 children under five who require feeding and nutrition supplements due to the severe shortage of lipid-based nutrient supplements entering Gaza.

OCHA said the development “marks a dramatic collapse in the malnutrition prevention programme”, noting that an average of 76,000 children – or a quarter of those in need – were reached each month between April and June.

Distribution of other key nutrition supplies has also declined sharply, which is affecting children, pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers.

Shelter crisis worsens

Meanwhile, no shelter materials have entered Gaza since 2 March. 

At the same time, more than one million shelter items, and 2.3 million items such as tents, tarps, and sealing-off materials, have been procured and are currently stuck in Jordan and Egypt as the Israeli authorities have not approved their entry. 

The shelter crisis continues to worsen, with most families living in severely overcrowded and unsafe conditions. Some have no shelter at all. 

In July, humanitarians assessed 44 displacement sites, discovering that 43 had families with no shelter.

A family rests after evacuating from Deir Al-Balah in the Gaza Strip. (file)

Bombardment and displacement continue

The situation is further deteriorating due to ongoing bombardment, displacement orders and insecurity, which continue to displace families and disrupt humanitarian operations.

OCHA reported that overall, realities on the ground remain largely the same since Israel announced a “tactical pause” in military operations to allow the safe passage of aid.

The UN agency reiterated that supplies that have entered remain insufficient given the immense needs, while UN convoys continue to face challenges in delivering aid.

Aid missions taking hours

While fewer humanitarian movements have been denied outright, missions that are approved still take hours to complete, with some taking more than 18 hours.

On Wednesday, five out of 11 missions requiring coordination with the Israel authorities were facilitated. These included collecting food from the Kerem Shalom and Zikim crossings.

Another four missions were impeded but eventually fully completed, which included the collection of fuel from Kerem Shalom crossing and transfer of fuel from southern Gaza to the north. 

Medical evacuation update

One of the missions saw the medical evacuation of 15 children to Jordan, and 42 companions, with support from the World Health Organization (WHO).  However, more than 14,800 patients in Gaza still urgently need specialized medical care.

OCHA also reported on the flow of commercial goods into the Strip, noting that several trucks carrying food items have been entering over the past days. 

While the UN will continue to monitor the situation, humanitarians again stressed the need for unimpeded and predictable humanitarian access into and within Gaza, warning that “without it, time and resources are wasted, lives are lost, and the response cannot match the scale of the needs.” 

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Chile and Argentina among coldest places on Earth as polar anticyclone grips region

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On 30 June, both Chile and Argentina ranked among the coldest places on Earth, outside the polar regions.

Governments in both countries issued early warnings and cold-weather alerts in response to the “polar-origin anticyclone” behind the extreme conditions, WMO said.

The cold snap in South America contrasts blistering heat in the northern hemisphere, especially in Europe, putting lives at risk and further underscores the worsening impacts of climate change.

Heating systems affected

In Mar del Plata, Argentina – about 380 kilometres (240 miles) south of Buenos Aires – where winters are “cool” and temperatures seldom drop below freezing, the unusual cold snap has affected natural gas distribution, primarily used for heating.  

A UN staff member in the city reported that businesses were asked to remain closed to conserve gas supplies for homes. Schools and public buildings were also shut on Thursday and possibly Friday.

Across much of central and southern Argentina, temperatures were 10°C to 15°C – 50°F to 59°F – below seasonal averages.

Unusual weather conditions

The cold spell began on 26 June and peaked on 30 June, bringing record lows to large parts of the continent.  

“Although the Andean mountains and Patagonia are no strangers to cold temperatures in winter, the severity of this event was exceptional and even affected low-lying areas,” WMO said in a news release.

The high-pressure system brought atmospheric stability, resulting in clear skies and widespread severe frost.  

In Chilean cities of Santiago, Rancagua and Talca, stagnant cold air led to a buildup of pollutants and deteriorating air quality.

National meteorological services in both Chile and Argentina reported record low temperatures at multiple weather stations.  

Remarkably, snow blanketed parts of the Atacama Desert – the driest place on Earth – for the first time in over a decade. Snow also fell in unusual locations such as Mar del Plata, the Calamuchita Valley in Córdoba, and the hilly regions of northern Patagonia.  

Far-reaching impacts

Concerns are growing over the broader societal and economic impacts of the extreme cold.

Farmers in central Chile and northern Patagonia have reported crop damage due to early frosts, threatening fruit and winter harvests.

Meanwhile, transport and schooling were disrupted in towns unaccustomed to such severe winter weather.