This new phase of the fighting in Ukraine has sent an ominous chill down my spine. The intensification and spread of the conflict risk a scale of death and destruction that are frightening to contemplate, given the immense military capacities involved.
We already see the immediate consequences for civilians, with the latest intensification triggering new displacement. Residents in Donbas and elsewhere have already endured eight years of conflict. Now I fear increased suffering, with the potential of massive casualty numbers and extensive destruction of civilian objects like water and electricity plants, as well as mass displacement, trauma, family separation and missing persons.
