UN calls for $5.6 billion to help war-affected Ukrainians

GENEVA, Feb 15 (Reuters) – Two United Nations agencies on Wednesday appealed for $5.6 billion to help Ukrainian citizens hardest hit by the Russian invasion.

The announcement, made jointly by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), comes days before a year has passed since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24.

The humanitarian response plan for Ukraine, which includes hundreds of local Ukrainian organizations, is requesting $3.9 billion in funding, while the regional response plan for Ukrainian refugees is requesting $1.7 billion.

“I urge all generous states, individuals and civil society, and people like you and me around the world, to give generously today,” said Martin Griffiths, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Coordinator of emergency relief for the UN, during a briefing held in Geneva.

“You can be sure that the funds will go to those in need in Ukraine.”

Griffiths said the funds would go to more than 11 million Ukrainian citizens, to provide them with food, healthcare, cash and other needed aid.

Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said the Regional Refugee Response Plan includes 10 countries that have hosted large numbers of Ukrainian refugees since the start of the war, including Moldova, Poland and neighboring Romania.

“Refugees have not only been welcomed, but temporary protection agreements have given refugees the right to work, access services and be included in national systems,” Grandi said in a statement. “However, we must not take this response, or the hospitality of host communities, for granted”

Russia, which has stepped up its attacks in southern and eastern Ukraine in recent weeks, is expected to launch a major new offensive before the first anniversary of the invasion.

(Reporting by Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber; editing by Bernadette Baum; editing in Spanish by Darío Fernández)