Humanitarian Situation in Donbass Difficult, Locals Deprived of Aid - OSCE

The humanitarian situation in Donbass had not improved since the beginning of the year, according to the OSCE mission. The access to humanitarian aid and social benefits for Donbass residents is hindered.

KIEV (Sputnik) — The principal deputy chief monitor of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine told Sputnik that humanitarian situation in the war-torn southeastern Ukraine remains difficult

"The current fighting in the security zone in particular affects civilians. Massive unemployment is a problem, as most industry in that area has closed down due to the fighting. Also, especially in that security zone access to food and medicine is often difficult," Alexander Hug said in an interview.

According to Hug, the access to humanitarian aid and social benefits for Donbass residents is also hindered.

He added that the humanitarian situation in the region had not improved since the beginning of the year and local residents confirm that fact.

Ukraine's southeastern Donetsk and Lugansk regions have been severely affected by fighting between Ukrainian troops and local independence supporters, which started in April 2014 when Kiev launched a military operation in Donbass.

According to the UN data more than 9,300 people have been killed and more than 21,500 have been injured since the beginning of the conflict. The warfare has also made thousands of people to flee their homes.