At least 2,251 people have been killed in fighting in Donetsk Oblast, a spokeswoman for the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic announced today.
“During the entire period of
hostilities in the region 2,251 people have been killed, of which 35 were children
under the age of 18,” said Daria Morozova, the DPR’s Commissioner for Human
Rights. It was unclear if the number referred to combatants as well as
civilians.
“We have recorded statistics
for damaged infrastructure in the territory of the Republic. The total damage
at the end of 2014 amounted to about 1.3 billion hryvnia,” she added.
Speaking in an interview with the
newly formed Donetsk News Agency, run by separatist authorities, she said that
more than 50 medical centers had been destroyed or damaged by the fighting,
which began in April 2014 when Kremlin-backed insurgents seized government
buildings in the east of Ukraine.
According to the DPR, 4,472
buildings, including 105 schools, are in need of repair or rebuilding after
being hit by artillery, mortar or small arms fire. Key infrastructure,
including bridges, power lines, gas, heating and water supply pipes, has also
been damaged. The cities of Donetsk and Makeyevka have suffered the most, the
DPR says.
In December the United Nations
and Amnesty International criticized authorities in Kyiv for withdrawing
government services from separatist-held territory and allowing Ukrainian volunteer
militias to block humanitarian aid shipments to the DPR’s beleaguered
inhabitants. The organizations fear the region is on the brink of a
humanitarian disaster.
“As winter sets in, the already
desperate situation in eastern Ukraine is being made even worse by the
volunteer battalions preventing food aid and medicine from reaching those in
need,” said Denis Krivosheev, Deputy Director of Europe and Central Asia for
Amnesty International.
“It is no secret that the
region is facing a humanitarian disaster with many already at risk of starvation.”
