LONDON: The US envoy to Yemen, Tim Lenderking, announced nearly $165 million in new humanitarian assistance for Yemen, the State Department said on Monday.
The funding, issued from the US Agency for International Development (USAID), “will provide lifesaving aid for Yemenis continuing to face humanitarian crisis after almost seven years of war that has left 20 million people struggling to survive without basic necessities, including more than two million young children facing deadly malnutrition,” the statement said.
The aid will go toward helping the UN World Food Program to continue providing emergency food assistance to more than 11 million people every month, including in communities affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, in an effort to prevent.
The USAID called on other donors to step up their contributions to help deliver critical assistance to the Yemeni people, but said the US reiterates that only a political agreement can address the root causes of the crisis in the war-torn country.
“The United States calls on all parties to the conflict to end the fighting and ensure needs do not continue to worsen,” USAID said, adding that aid alone cannot meet the vast and growing humanitarian needs in Yemen.
“Aid from the international community has so far prevented people from slipping into famine, the recent escalation of violence in Marib is only increasing humanitarian needs as it threatens to displace hundreds of thousands of people, placing further strain on an already stretched humanitarian response,” it said.
The Iran-backed Houthi militia mounted a brutal offensive to take control of oil and gas-rich Marib in February, sparking widespread international condemnation, particularly since the governorate has served as a safe haven for internally displaced people who have been fleeing the fighting since the conflict began in 2014.
The US remains the largest single donor of humanitarian assistance in Yemen, providing more than $3.6 billion to alleviate suffering of the Yemeni people since the crisis began.
US announces $165 million in new humanitarian assistance for Yemen
https://arab.news/57hu8
US announces $165 million in new humanitarian assistance for Yemen
- USAID calls on other donors to step up their contributions to help the Yemeni people
- US says recent escalation of violence in Marib is only increasing humanitarian needs
Ukraine’s Zelensky: We have backed US peace proposals to get a deal done
- “The tactic we chose is for the Americans not to think that we want to continue the war,” Zelensky told The Atlantic
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv had sought to back US peace proposals to end the war with Russia as President Donald Trump seeks to resolve the conflict before November mid-term elections.
Zelensky, in an interview published by The Atlantic on Thursday, said Kyiv was willing to hold both a presidential election and a referendum on a deal, but would not settle for an accord that was detrimental to Ukraine’s interests.
“The tactic we chose is for the Americans not to think that we want to continue the war,” Zelensky told the US-based publication. “That’s why we started supporting their proposals in any format that speeds things along.”
He said Ukraine was “not afraid of anything. Are we ready for elections? We’re ready. Are we ready for a referendum? We’re ready.”
Zelensky has sought to build good relations with Washington since an Oval Office meeting in February 2025 descended into a shouting match with Trump and US Vice President JD Vance.
But he said he had rejected a proposal, reported this week by the Financial Times, to announce the votes on February 24, the fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion. A ceasefire and proposed US security guarantees against a future invasion had not yet been settled, he said.
“No one is clinging to power,” The Atlantic quoted him as saying. “I am ready for elections. But for that we need security, guarantees of security, a ceasefire.”
And he added: “I don’t think we should put a bad deal up for a referendum.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said Zelensky is not a legitimate negotiating partner because he has not faced election since coming to power in 2019.
Zelensky has said in recent weeks that a document on security guarantees for Ukraine is all but ready to be signed.
But, in his remarks, he acknowledged that details remained unresolved, including whether the US would be willing to shoot down incoming missiles over Ukraine if Russia were to violate the peace.
“This hasn’t been fixed yet,” Zelensky said. “We have raised it, and we will continue to raise these questions...We need all of this to be written out.”
