GENEVA: The United Nations and its partners on Monday appealed for a combined $4.2 billion from donors to support war-ravaged communities in Ukraine as well as Ukrainian refugees in 2024.
“Hundreds of thousands of children live in communities on the front lines of the war, terrified, traumatized and deprived of their basic needs,” said UN aid chief Martin Griffiths.
“That fact alone should compel us to do everything we can to bring more humanitarian assistance to Ukraine.”
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that more than 14.6 million people, or 40 percent of Ukraine’s population, will need humanitarian assistance this year due to Russia’s full-scale invasion.
More than 3.3 million of the people in need live in front-line communities in the east and the south of the country, including in territories occupied by Russia, access to which remains “significantly impeded,” according to OCHA.
As part of the appeal, OCHA is asking for $3.1 billion to help 8.5 million people in dire need of humanitarian aid in 2024. The UN refugee agency is seeking $1.1 billion to support 2.3 million Ukrainian refugees and their host communities.
Russia’s invasion, launched in February 2022, has forced some 6.3 million people to flee abroad. Four million people, including nearly one million children, remain displaced within the country, according to OCHA.
“Host countries continue to extend protection and include them in society, but many vulnerable refugees still need help,” said Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
“They shouldn’t feel pressed to return because they cannot make ends meet in exile.”
UN appeals for $4.2bn to support war-ravaged Ukraine, refugees
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UN appeals for $4.2bn to support war-ravaged Ukraine, refugees
- OCHA said that more than 14.6 million people, or 40 percent of Ukraine’s population, will need humanitarian assistance this year due to Russia’s full-scale invasion
Russian missiles attack port infrastructure near Ukraine’s Odesa, kill seven
- At least 15 people were also injured in the Russian missile strike, said Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba
A Russian missile attack late on Friday on port infrastructure around Ukraine’s Black Sea port of Odesa killed seven people and injured 15, Ukrainian officials said.
“In the late evening, Russia attacked port infrastructure in Odesa region with ballistic missiles,” Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba wrote on Telegram.
Kuleba and Odesa regional governor Oleh Kiper said that, according to preliminary reports, seven people were killed and 15 injured. A source familiar with the matter said the attack was on Pivdennyi — one of three ports in the area.
Odesa, a focal point of Ukrainian grain and other exports, has been a frequent target of Russian attacks since Russia invaded its smaller neighbor in February 2022.
The intensity of the attacks has increased in recent days. One strike damaged a bridge southwest of Odesa and cut a major route between the city and the Danube River port of Reni and complicated border crossings to Moldova and Romania.
