The UN said on Monday that it had identified 19,000 displaced people in Ukraine, while estimates from local authorities indicated another 15,000 had been forced from their homes in areas it does not monitor.
There are "credible reports of movements inside Donetsk and Lugansk provinces . . . including an estimated 15,000 people from Slavyansk," said UN humanitarian affairs chief Valerie Amos.
Donetsk and Lugansk in eastern Ukraine are at the epicentre of a pro-Russia insurgency that began in March and triggered a military operation that has killed more than 300 people.
The UN said last month at least 10,000 people had been driven from their homes since the start of the Ukraine crisis, with Crimean Tatars the hardest-hit.
Thousands of Crimea's Muslim Tatars, generally seen as pro-Kiev, fled the southern peninsula after Russia annexed the province.
UN
Pro-Russians spark Eastern Ukraine exodus
An estimated 34,000 Ukrainians have been forced to leave their homes as a violent pro-Russian insurgency rages in the east of the country, the United Nations in Geneva says.
UKRAINE
Germany to support defence of Polish airspace
Germany on Monday said it had reached an agreement to help Poland protect its skies following a deadly rocket strike close to the border with Ukraine.
Berlin would “send Patriot anti-aircraft systems to Poland and support the securing of Polish airspace with Eurofighter (jets)”, Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht said in a statement.
READ ALSO: Germany to buy F-35 fighter jets in military shopping spree
Two people were killed last week when a missile landed in the Polish village of Przewodow, six kilometres (four miles) from the Ukrainian border.
Warsaw and NATO have said the explosion was likely caused by a Ukrainian air-defence missile launched to intercept a Russian barrage, but that Moscow was ultimately to blame because it started the conflict.
Before the deal was agreed, Polish Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said he “welcomed the German proposal with satisfaction”.
Blaszczak said on Twitter he would propose for the systems to be “stationed close to the border with Ukraine”.
Germany has already sent Patriot anti-aircraft units to Slovakia, where Berlin hopes to keep them deployed for longer than currently planned.
The air-defence systems should remain in Slovakia “until the end of 2023 and potentially even beyond”, Lambrecht told the Rheinische Post daily.
“It is our utmost responsibility that NATO does not become a participant in this conflict,” while strengthening its air defences, she said.
READ ALSO: Germany and Spain to train Ukraine troops under EU programme
Please whitelist us to continue reading.
Member comments