Russia's invasion of Ukraine has left nearly 18 million people in need of assistance. Humanitarian organizations must navigate and maneuver around shifting lines of control, large scale military operations, the use of heavy weapons causing widespread damage, and complex sanctions policies. In addition, humanitarian actors are faced with sophisticated misinformation operations further increasing the challenges to provide efficient humanitarian assistance. Beyond these operational constraints, Ukraine’s symbolic role in the theater of great power competition and global political dynamics further challenges principled humanitarian access.
The prospect of future large-scale combat operations among great powers poses operational challenges to the humanitarian sector and the millions of civilians likely to be affected by such conflicts. The humanitarian community must be better prepared to respond to a potential future of large-scale conflicts. This panel will discuss the implications of geostrategic competition on humanitarian action, including on access and preparedness, by analyzing how the humanitarian system responded to the outbreak of the Russian-Ukraine conflict.