UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik) — The people face difficulties mostly due to unstable water supply and high commodity prices, and some 1.3 million people in the conflict-affected areas have problems with getting drinking water, the statement said.
"Long queues are reported at the Volnovakha and other checkpoints in Donetska oblast [Donetsk Region], with civilians waiting for hours for access to food, water and sanitation or medical services," the statement updated Monday said.
The OCHA noted that prices for medicines and food in Donbass were 60-100 percent higher compared to the rest of the country.
Southeastern Ukraine has been suffering from a humanitarian crisis that had emerged as a result of a military operation against local independence supporters launched by Kiev authorities following a coup in April 2014.
In November, 2014, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko signed a decree imposing an economic blockade on Donbass and withdrawing all state-funded health, educational and social protections from the region.
Russia has sent over 30 peaceful aid convoys to Ukraine's Donetsk and Lugansk regions since August 2014 to provide humanitarian relief to local residents.
