UN weighs underground storage for Ukraine aid after 10 warehouses hit by Russian strikes
The UN is considering moving humanitarian aid supplies to underground storage in Ukraine after Russian strikes destroyed 10 UN warehouses this year, the UN humanitarian coordinator in Ukraine, Matthias Schmale, said. Millions of dollars of cargo, including medical, hygiene and school supplies, were lost, and the UN is also planning to delay purchases closer to the moment of need to limit exposure to strikes.
Key points
- Russian strikes have destroyed 10 UN warehouses in Ukraine since the beginning of the year.
- The UN is considering moving humanitarian aid supplies underground to protect them.
- One of the main WHO warehouses storing medical supplies was hit in early September.
- Hygiene kits and school supplies intended for children were destroyed in other attacks.
- Humanitarian cargo worth millions of dollars has been lost in the strikes.
- The UN plans to purchase humanitarian cargo closer to the moment it is needed on the ground, reducing time in storage.
- The UN's 2026 humanitarian assistance budget for Ukraine is $2.3 billion, which does not account for the added security costs.
Why it matters
Ten UN warehouses struck in a single year marks a sharp escalation in the targeting of humanitarian infrastructure inside Ukraine, forcing a fundamental rethink of how aid is stored and procured. The loss of medical, hygiene and school supplies directly affects vulnerable civilians, including children, while the unaccounted security costs add fresh pressure to a $2.3 billion humanitarian budget already stretched by the scale of need.
What happened
Matthias Schmale, the UN humanitarian coordinator in Ukraine, said the UN is exploring underground storage for humanitarian supplies after Russian strikes destroyed 10 UN warehouses in Ukraine this year. In early September, one of the main WHO warehouses storing medical supplies was hit, and hygiene kits and school supplies intended for children were destroyed in other attacks. Schmale described attacks on warehouse infrastructure as a new trend of recent months. He said the UN also intends to reduce the volume of humanitarian cargo purchased long before delivery, bringing purchases closer to the moment the aid is directly needed on the ground, to limit the time supplies sit exposed in storage. The UN's humanitarian assistance budget for Ukraine in 2026 amounts to $2.3 billion, and Schmale noted that the increased security needs arising from the strikes were not accounted for within that budget.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
Ukrainian-language coverage foregrounds the destruction of UN and WHO infrastructure inside Ukraine by Russian strikes and emphasizes the loss of supplies intended for vulnerable civilians, including children. It also highlights the operational and budgetary fallout for the UN's humanitarian response, noting that the cost of additional security measures was not built into the existing budget.
Background
Schmale characterized attacks on warehouse infrastructure as a new trend of recent months. In early September, Russian forces struck one of the main WHO warehouses storing medical supplies in Ukraine, and hygiene kits and school supplies intended for children were destroyed in other attacks on storage sites.