Source: Ukrinform
Ukrainian Disability Rights Commissioner Tetiana Kolobrodova stated at a UN conference marking the 20th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in New York that the number of people with disabilities in Ukraine has increased by 600,000 due to the war. After the war ends, this number could rise significantly, as it mainly concerns war veterans.
Kolobrodova highlighted the severe impact of Russian aggression on the rights of people with disabilities. Since the start of the war, more than 1,200 medical facilities have been destroyed. The disruption of electricity, water, and heating supplies due to Russian attacks hits those affected particularly hard.
Communication with the occupied territories is severely limited, yet around 400 complaints were received via a hotline last year. Ukraine organizes evacuations of people with disabilities from Russia and the occupied territories, including via the Mokrany–Domanove humanitarian corridor on the Ukrainian-Belarusian border. Many return to Ukraine through Poland, Moldova, and other neighboring countries.
