Oslo, Europe Brief News – Nearly two million people are at risk of being displaced if fighting resumes at Ukraine’s borders.
“The lives and safety of millions of people in eastern Ukraine are on hold while we wait for a political breakthrough to break the deadlock,” the Norwegian Refugee Council said.
The NGO’s secretary-general Jan Egeland warned in a statement of “the human suffering that would result from a renewed conflict, which would increase the number of civilian casualties, cause massive displacement and increase humanitarian needs.”.
According to the Norwegian Refugee Council, more than 850,000 people have already been displaced in Ukraine due to the fighting.
An active resumption of the conflict could, according to the NGO, undo the “significant progress” of recent years in the living conditions of people in eastern Ukraine.
The number of people depending on humanitarian aid there has fallen from 5 million in 2015 to 3 million today, according to the Norwegian Refugee Council.
New Agreement
Russia and Ukraine have earlier reached a new agreement to restore a 2020 ceasefire deal in eastern Ukraine.
Ukrainian presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak hailed the deal, saying the coming holidays “should be peaceful”.
The deal was brokered by Europe’s OSCE security organisation as a step towards de-escalation.
The agreement coincides with heightened tensions in the region.
