The conflict in Iran continues with no idea of how long it will last. Not far away is Ukraine, which has already lasted four years and shows no signs of being resolved in the short term. With the focus now on the Middle East, the fear that the "war" in Ukraine will be sidelined is growing. The four years of invasion have caused the internal displacement of more than 3.7 million people and have forced over 5 million to leave the country by December 2025. According to UNHCR, around 12.7 million people currently require humanitarian assistance. And according to Amnesty International, the last year has been the most devastating for the civilian population since 2022. Enduring the harshest winter, with daytime temperatures around -16 °C and nighttime temperatures of up to -20 °C, Ukrainians have suffered airstrikes and the destruction of civilian and energy infrastructure, leaving homes, schools, and hospitals without electricity, heating, or water.
More than 3.3 million children in Ukraine are growing up marked by the violence of war. School education is interrupted. Many pensioners cannot afford to buy firewood to stay warm. Public transport only operates twice a week. NGOs are working hard to create safe spaces for emotional support for everyone through mobile clinics that guarantee medical and psychological services in hard-to-reach areas close to the front line. And the hardest cost to digest, the casualties. The estimated data, although not confirmed by Ukraine, from the Center for Strategic and International Studies based in Washington, suggests that Ukrainians have suffered between 500,000-600,000 casualties in these four years, with 100,000-140,000 dead. Additionally, Russian casualties: 1.2 million, with between 275,000 and 325,000 dead...
If the conflict in the Middle East lasts longer than expected, a humanitarian crisis looms that will exclusively devastate the Iranian population, the most vulnerable among all the actors in this episode. A new disaster that will overlap with that of Ukraine, that of Gaza... How many more mirrors does humanity need to look into to avoid repeating infamy? ♦