EU increases humanitarian assistance for Ukrainian conflict-affected population

The European Commission is giving additional funding of €2.5 million to assist the most vulnerable people affected by the continuing fighting in eastern Ukraine. This humanitarian aid is geared towards helping to register and relocate internally displaced people (IDPs), provide shelter, food, water, health care, psycho-social assistance and protection in preparation for the coming winter.

"We are moving to help some of the most vulnerable victims of this conflict. These civilians, many of them women and children, have been forced to flee their homes at a short notice, leaving behind even the most necessary belongings. They need our help to live through the months ahead - especially with winter looming. Some of them are also now caught in crossfires without possibility to escape," said International Co-operation, Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva.

"I call on all sides of this conflict to facilitate the work of humanitarian organisations and allow for the provision of assistance to the civilian population in need, irrespective of who and where they are," the commissioner added.

The Commission's humanitarian funding will address the basic needs of the population in the areas directly affected by the conflict, the internally displaced and refugees who have fled the conflict areas, and the returnees who are going back home to recovered areas by the Ukrainian military. This category includes some 3.9 million people.

As on all other crises, the Commission works in close co-ordination with the UN and humanitarian partners. EU humanitarian experts have been deployed in the regions affected since the crisis began to monitor the situation and ensure timely and coordinated EU support. The Commission's humanitarian aid experts are fully involved in the humanitarian response preparation for Ukraine, led by the United Nations.

The €2.5m comes on the top of €250,000 the European Commission provided in Ukraine through the International Federation of the Red Cross/Red Crescent.

Background

The continued fighting in Eastern Ukraine has taken more civilian lives and led to further forced displacement of the population since July 2014. Some 293 000 people are registered as internally displaced or refugees (118,000 internally displaced and 175,000 refugees to Russia). The numbers may be higher due to the lack of a centralized registration system for the internally displaced.

The conflict has also resulted in damages to the infrastructure, electricity and water supply system, and increasingly limited supplies.

More information

The European Commission's humanitarian aid and civil protection
Commissioner Georgieva's website

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