Intensified fighting between Government and non-Government forces near densely populated areas in eastern Ukraine is endangering civilians, the senior United Nations humanitarian representative in the country told reporters in Geneva today.
"The situation in eastern Ukraine is actually quite serious, you will be aware that between 21 January and 3 February the fighting intensity increased," UN Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine Neal Walker said, citing frequent violations of the ceasefire and fighting near the towns of Avdiivka, Yasynuvata, Makiivka and Donetsk.
"There was extremely intense fighting from the 29th until the 3rd of February," Walker recalled, noting that that the number of ceasefire violations exceeded 30,000 in a week or so, compared to less than 30,000 over the course of a month.
The conflict in eastern Ukraine erupted in March 2014. A ceasefire was eventually negotiated in Minsk, Belarus, in February 2015 but there have been frequent violations. The latest truce began on 23 December last year.
Walker also mentioned that the humanitarian situation is quite critical. "Let’s not forget temperatures in the past weeks have been between 10 and 20 below zero centigrade," he said

Source:  QNA