The Human Cost of Ukraine’s War

Recently UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein released this statement concerning the War in Eastern Ukraine.

“Bus stops and public transport, marketplaces, schools and kindergartens, hospitals and residential areas have become battlegrounds in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine – in clear breach of international humanitarian law which governs the conduct of armed conflicts,”

A woman with her child weeps while fleeing fighting in Debaltseve Ukraine -photo RUETERS/Sergey Polezhaka

According to Zeid the human cost of Ukraine’s war since April 2014 looks like this:

• 5,358 people killed
• 12,235 people wounded
• 224 civilians killed and 545 wounded in just the past 3 weeks
• 5.4 million people directly affected in the war zone

They also noted:

“The casualty figure is a conservative estimate… HRMU and WHO believe that the actual numbers of fatalities are considerably higher.”

It’s the Innocent Who Suffer Most

This is a good time to remember that like all wars it’s the innocent who suffer most. Civilian deaths and injuries are easily 3-4 times the number of soldier’s.

Please take some time today and pray for civilians caught in the war zone.

• Pray for those who have lost loved ones.
• Pray for those who are injured and can not find adequate medical care.
• Pray for those who are trying desperately to leave towns that are under constant shelling.
• Pray for aid workers who are doing their best to help in a dangerous situation.
• Pray for believers who have chosen to stay in the war zone so they can minister to those in greatest need!