Civilians in eastern Ukraine face increasing hardships, UN says

PanARMENIAN.Net - Civilians in eastern Ukraine are facing increasing hardships, with wrecked infrastructure and limited access to power and water supplies, the UN said, according to BBC News.

UN humanitarian chief John Ging said "immediate action" was needed to halt the conflict and prevent the situation from putting more people in danger.

More than 1,500 people are believed to have been killed since April.

Heavy fighting once again erupted on Tuesday in a suburb of the city of Donetsk. At least two civilians were killed as government forces battled to retake the city from pro-Russia armed groups.

Ging told an emergency meeting of the Security Council that the lack of a political solution in Ukraine would only lead to more people being killed.

"The ongoing efforts to find a political solution to the crisis in Ukraine have borne little fruit," he said. "Therefore insecurity and violence prevail in conflict areas resulting in a steady worsening of the humanitarian situation. This will continue to deteriorate for as long as violence persists."

Ukraine and Western countries have accused Russia of fuelling the rebellion with weapons and soldiers, a claim the Russian government has repeatedly denied.

Russia says casualties have occurred because the Ukrainian military shells indiscriminately.

The UN revealed on Tuesday that the number of people fleeing the war in eastern Ukraine to other parts of the country had jumped from 2,600 to 102,600 inside two months.