In eastern Ukraine, the situation remains ‘extremely serious’ for more than 1.7 million children affected by the escalating crisis, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned today as it appealed for funds to continue its humanitarian response in the country.

As the conflict in eastern Ukraine heads into its tenth month, continued fighting and bitter cold temperatures are placing more than five million people at risk, the top United Nations human rights official warned today as he described conditions for those still living in conflict-affected areas as becoming “increasingly dire.”

Key steps have been taken recently to deliver food vouchers to some 10,000 internally displaced people in the Donetsk region of Ukraine, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) reported today, while underscoring that ensuring access to food in the country’s crisis-gripped eastern region remains a “priority concern.”

Prevailing hostilities in Ukraine in recent days are putting the ceasefire agreed to in September under “continuous and serious strain,” a senior United Nations political official told the Security Council today, warning against the possibility of a return to full-scale fighting despite prospects of hope offered by recent parliamentary elections.