UN calls for increase in humanitarian aid for Donbas residents
The United Nations called for measures to protect Ukrainians suffering from active hostilities in the Donbas, as mentioned in the statement on the 10th commemoration of World Humanitarian Day on the website of the United Nations Office in Ukraine.
United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine Osnat Lubrani made a public plea for “increased support by the international community to scale up much-needed humanitarian assistance to respond to the large-scale humanitarian needs generated by the crisis.”
"I am deeply concerned that millions of Ukrainian men, women and children living near the 450-km-long ‘contact line’ are regularly exposed to sniper and small-arms fire, shelling and unacceptable risks from extensive mine and unexploded ordinance contamination,” Lubrani said.
“I implore the international community to increase their support for scaling up efforts to alleviate the suffering of the civilian population affected by the crisis wherever they reside within Ukraine’s territory and reiterate appeals for full respect for international humanitarian law,” she noted.
According to the UN, by the fifth year of the crisis, over 3,000 civilian men, women and children have been killed and more than 9,000 injured in eastern Ukraine.
"More than 3.4 million people struggle daily to find food, water, shelter, health care and education, exacerbating their vulnerabilities and undermining their resilience. On this important day commemorating humanitarian action, I would like to acknowledge the tireless efforts of the humanitarian community who are helping to alleviate the suffering of millions of civilians affected by the hostilities in Ukraine,” Lubrani said.
She asserted that in the first six months of 2018 alone, vital humanitarian relief reached more than 600,000 Ukrainian civilians in all affected areas of Ukraine, but that fully covering the vast humanitarian needs of eastern Ukraine would urgently require more funding.
In earlier reports, fifteen trucks of humanitarian aid were sent to the Donbas in addition to the 103 tons of humanitarian aid already sent by the Red Cross to the Donetsk People’s Republic.