Over one million displaced by Ukraine crisis: UN

The UN says over one million people have been displaced as a result of the Ukrainian crisis, warning against deterioration of the situation if the conflict continues.

“It’s safe to say you have over a million people now displaced as a result of the conflict, internally and externally together,” Vincent Cochetel, director of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Bureau for Europe told reporters in Geneva on Tuesday.

“I mean 260,000 in Ukraine, it’s a low estimate, 814,000 in Russia, then you add the rest…Belarus, Moldova, the European Union,” he said, adding, “In terms of the ongoing fighting, in Donetsk, Luhansk and in the south of Donetsk Oblast (district), we [are] very concerned about risk of further exodus.”

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres has issued a statement, expressing deep concern about “the risk of further displacement of major proportion in that part of the country.”

“If this crisis is not quickly stopped, it will have not only devastating humanitarian consequences, but it also has the potential to destabilize the whole region,” Guterres added.

Meanwhile Human Rights Watch (HRW) has accused Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russia militias of serious abuses in the ongoing war in the country’s east, especially in Luhansk.

The international rights organization says many government attacks were indiscriminate and didn’t distinguish between civilians and the militias.

“The truth is, local residents are subjected to terrifying daily shelling, much of it apparently unlawful, and that the number of civilian casualties is steadily rising,” said Ole Solvang, senior emergencies researcher with the HRW.

“The use of explosive weapons with such wide-area effects in a city full of civilians is completely irresponsible and will almost inevitably lead to civilian casualties…. Whether used by government or insurgent forces, those responsible should be held to account for this callous disregard for civilian life,” Solvang added.

Kiev and the West have repeatedly accused Moscow of involvement in the crisis in eastern Ukraine, with NATO saying last week that Russia had over 1,000 of its troops deployed in Ukraine.

Russia for its part has repeatedly rejected the allegations with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov saying on Monday in the latest refutation that “There will be no military intervention (in Ukraine).”

He added, “I am very much counting upon the negotiations set for today to above all focus on agreeing an immediate and unconditional ceasefire.”

Since Kiev launched military operations to silence the pro-Russia protesters in mid-April, Ukraine’s mainly Russian-speaking regions in the country’s east have witnessed deadly clashes between pro-Moscow forces and the Ukrainian army which have claimed the lives of over 2,600 people.