The UN is considering moving aid shipments for Ukraine to underground storage facilities following strikes on warehouses
Kyiv • UNN
Russian strikes this year destroyed millions of dollars’ worth of UN property at 10 warehouses. The organization is strengthening protection for personnel and supplies.
The UN humanitarian coordinator in Ukraine said on Tuesday that his organization was considering moving humanitarian aid supplies to underground storage facilities to avoid Russian strikes. Such attacks have already hit 10 of the organization’s warehouses this year, destroying property worth millions of dollars, UNN reports, citing Reuters.
Earlier this month, one of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) main warehouses, where medical supplies were stored, was hit, while other attacks destroyed hygiene kits and school supplies for children, UN humanitarian coordinator in Ukraine Matthias Schmale told Reuters in Geneva.
"These targeted attacks on warehouse facilities (...) are a new trend of the past few months," he said after a briefing for states on Ukraine’s needs in the fifth year of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
According to him, the organization is considering moving supplies to underground bunkers and postponing the procurement of humanitarian aid until the last possible moment in order to minimize the risk of them being hit.
"There is an increasing sense that the front line is moving into the airspace," he said. "This also means additional costs for taxpayers, who ultimately pay for the goods brought in by the UN and other humanitarian organizations." He added that such expenses had not been included in the organization’s $2.3 billion humanitarian aid budget for 2026.
The UN is investing in equipment to protect personnel — including purchasing more armored vehicles and drone-detection systems — and is also considering requests from the Ukrainian side to install mobile shelters from drones on the streets (for example, near bus stops) amid the rising number of civilian casualties, Schmale said.