Ukraine conflict creates 'increasingly dire' conditions for 5M people, UN warns

The UN human rights office says at least 4,707 people have been killed and 10,322 wounded in the conflict-affected areas of eastern Ukraine.

It says more than 5 million people are living in the conflict areas where they face rising hardships and some struggle to stay alive. At least 1,357 fatalities have been recorded since the much-ignored ceasefire began in early September.

• Ukraine ceasefire breached again as 12 rebels killed in Donetsk

"The conflict is in its ninth month and the situation is becoming increasingly dire for the population still living in the east, said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad Al Hussein.

Internally displaced persons (IDPs) from the Donetsk and Luhansk regions have been told to register by Dec. 31 at government-run centres to receive social benefits. However, those centres have been overwhelmed with applicants and don't have the capacity to cope with the number of people requiring aid, the agency said.

The latest findings from the Geneva office, based on reports from a 34-member UN monitoring mission in Ukraine during November and other figures through Dec. 12, says large-scale offensives have halted since the ceasefire but skirmishes and indiscriminate shelling of populated areas continue.

The report Monday also notes lack of progress with several human rights investigations into alleged violations in Kyiv, Kharkiv and Mariupol.