Updated 5:06 p.m. Moscow Time
MOSCOW, September 9 (RIA Novosti) – Ukraine is on the verge of a humanitarian catastrophe especially as the cold season nears, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said Thursday.
“According to our estimates the humanitarian situation in the country is close to disaster, especially taking into account the upcoming cold season. Such opinions were voiced not only by Russia, but also by many international organizations, including the UN,” he said.
Due to the Kiev's military operation against independence supporters in eastern Ukraine, Donetsk and Luhansk regions have witnessed a severe humanitarian crisis, as many citizens have struggled without clean water, electricity, gas and other essentials.
On Wednesday, the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic estimated the war damage at about $1 billion.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian authorities still fail to agree a deal with Moscow on the renewal of gas shipments. In June, Russia's gas giant Gazprom was forced to introduce a prepayment system for gas deliveries to Ukraine due to Kiev's massive debt which is currently estimated at $5.3 billion.
Earlier this week, Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller said Ukraine would not be able to fill its underground gas storage facilities with 18-20 billion cubic meters of natural gas necessary to sustain winter.
