I am appalled and heartbroken to learn that one of our humanitarian colleagues, who had been working as a protection staff for our Ukrainian NGO partner, Right to Protection, was killed in the Russian missile attack on Chernihiv city centre this morning. He leaves behind a wife and children. Our colleague died alongside dozens of other killed and severely injured civilians as he was driving with his child through the city centre on the Saturday morning. Another Right to Protection colleague was also affected by the attack.
The terrible news reached me just a few hours after I had joined the humanitarian community at an event in Kyiv to mark World Humanitarian Day. We gathered to honour and remember the aid workers in Ukraine and around the world who have dedicated a significant part of their lives to assisting people suffering from wars and conflicts, and who have been killed while serving others.
Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with the families and the Right to Protection team, and with all the people who lost loved ones in this senseless attack.
Attacks against civilians must stop. They are #NotATarget.
Karolina Lindholm Billing, UNHCR Representative in Ukraine
Updated as of 21 August 2023
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