Humanitarian needs increase every day in Ukraine, says Red Cross

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) will send doctors, weapons contamination experts and other emergency team members to Ukraine, as well as 28 war-wounded kits.

Each kit has enough medical supplies to treat around 50 people who have suffered serious traumatic injuries. The Committee is also gathering relief items for refugees, as well as first-aid kits and other basic medical supplies.

THE CNNthe Committee reported that until the beginning of the current crisis, Ukraine was already one of the largest operations in the world, with 600 employees, however, with the escalation of violence in the region, the body had to increase its staff and budget.

Working in the country for eight years, the International Red Cross is present in 16 regions of Ukraine and since the beginning of the Russian invasion has been reinforcing humanitarian actions on the continent.

“Our teams are responding to needs whenever they can (for security reasons). The conflict increases by the hour. The humanitarian needs are enormous and getting worse every day,” said the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The ICRC recently delivered 2.5 tonnes of insulin to the endocrinology center in Odessa, a city in the port region. The amount of the drug is enough to serve 6,500 people for 6 months. In addition, members of the Committee work with Doctors Without Borders (MSF) to deliver surgical materials to the three main hospitals in Kiev, the Ukrainian capital.

Volunteers report that the situation in Ukraine is incredibly tense, dangerous and distressing for the population. According to them, many people lack water, electricity and minimal phone connectivity. Citizens’ greatest concern is for their families.

“People are desperately trying to get in touch with their relatives, but internet connectivity is really bad. People are seeking safety in shelters, often for hours on end,” reports the Committee.

In the Donetsk region, teams have already donated 500 packages of food and hygiene kits to the town of Gorlovka, as well as medicines, plastics and other items. Another 750 food kits will be delivered to Kurenivka, Obolon and Podil.

More than 4,000 people in shelters have also received food, water and hygiene items, as well as medical supplies — kits for war wounded and first aid kits — to hospitals in Mariupol.

In Kiev, war wounded kits were delivered to treat people with trauma, burns and gunshot wounds at two city hospitals, including one of the city’s main trauma hospitals. These were supplies donated by the ICRC and Doctors Without Borders and delivered by the Ukrainian Red Cross.