UN needs $4.2 billion for Ukraine humanitarian aid
The United Nations needs $4.2 billion (approximately €3.84 billion) to provide humanitarian aid to millions of Ukrainians, DW reports.
The UN is hoping to reach some 8.5 million within Ukraine and 2.3 million who have fled to eastern Europe.
"A recent wave of attacks underscores the devastating civilian cost of the war, while a bitter winter is ratcheting up the urgent need for life-saving humanitarian aid," the the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the UN refugee agency said in a joint-statement.
About three-quarters of the total, $3.1 billion, is meant to support some 8.5 million people inside Ukraine. The remaining $1.1 billion is sought for refugees and host communities outside Ukraine.
Some 40% of Ukraine's population, roughly 14.6 million people, will be in need of humanitarian assistance in Ukraine this year, the UN said.
"Hundreds of thousands of children live in communities on the front lines of the war, terrified, traumatized and deprived of their basicneeds. That fact alone should compel us to do everything we can to bring more humanitarian assistance to Ukraine," Martin Griffiths, the UN's humanitarian chief said.