On the occasion of Commissioner Lenari's visit to Ukraine, the European Union announced that an additional €205 million in humanitarian aid will be provided

Given the sharp increase in humanitarian needs in Ukraine, Yanez LinarkicThe Commissioner for Crisis Management is traveling to Ukraine today to meet with humanitarian organizations and high-ranking Ukrainian government officials to help coordinate the European Union’s response to the crisis on the ground.

On this occasion, the European Union today allocates an additional 205 million euros in humanitarian aid to Ukraine. This brings the total EU humanitarian aid funding and the amount of in-kind aid in response to Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine to more than 700 million euros, of which 13 million euros is spent on projects in neighboring Moldova.

Crisis Management Commissioner Yanez LinarkicHe said the following: “For more than 100 days, we have witnessed needless suffering and countless violations of international humanitarian law. In this time of crisis, our duty is to help the most vulnerable. We reacted quickly by significantly increasing our presence in Ukraine. With this funding, our humanitarian partners provide food, water, health care, shelter, protection and cash assistance. We are also working closely with the Ukrainian authorities to ensure that assistance from EU member states is adapted to evolving needs. Through the EU’s Civil Protection Mechanism, we have delivered millions of essential supplies to Ukrainians, and we are determined to support Ukraine for as long as it takes.”

EU humanitarian aid to Ukraine

In addition to financial humanitarian assistance, the EU has mobilized all possible resources to enable the delivery of aid to Ukraine, including:

Thanks to the largest mobilization ever carried out under Civil Protection Mechanism in the European Union, the 27 member states, along with Turkey, Norway and North Macedonia, provided more than 38,000 tons of aid, including first aid kits, food, protective clothing and strategic equipment such as fire trucks, mobile hospitals and energy supplies, for a financial value of €373 million. . Given the scale of this operation, the European Union has set up logistics platforms in neighboring countries, Poland, Romania and Slovakia, in order to speed up deliveries. who are they EU-funded humanitarian warehouses and logistics operations It was also carried out in Ukraine;
More than 500 Ukrainian patients in need of ongoing treatment or urgent medical assistance have been transferred to European hospitals through the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism from Ukraine, Moldova and neighboring countries. So far, the main destination countries have been Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania and Sweden;
The European Union has mobilized its own emergency reserve rescue To supply essential medical equipment from the rescue medical stockpile hosted by Germany, the Netherlands, Hungary and Greece, adding a new medical aircraft to its fleet to help transport critically ill patients who need urgent healthcare to hospitals in Europe. In the context of the Ukraine crisis, the EU also coordinated the first mobilization, through the rescue unit, of supplies from the private sector to help direct private donations to Ukraine.

The EU’s humanitarian partners ensure that aid reaches the most vulnerable, even in areas with limited access. They provide cash assistance, water, food, health care, protection and emergency shelter to affected civilians. To date, 1.59 million people have already benefited from EU-funded cash assistance programmes, with a monthly grant of 2200 UAH. This assistance allows residents to purchase the goods they desperately need, while contributing to the local economy.

Context

Since the beginning of the Russian invasion on February 24, humanitarian needs in Ukraine have reached unprecedented levels. According to the United Nations, up to 15.7 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance. The war in Ukraine has already forced more than 14 million people from their homes, of whom nearly 7 million have crossed the border into neighboring countries. It is estimated that more than 8 million people are internally displaced. At the same time, about 13 million people are stranded in the affected areas, either because they do not want to leave or because they are unable to do so due to military operations.

The European Union responded to the humanitarian needs of Ukraine on February 28 with funding of €90 million, on March 10 with €3 million for Moldova, on April 19 with €50 million, and today it launches an additional €205 million, which has been requested by the European Commission and is in the process of being adopted by the European Union Budget Body, bringing the total amount of EU humanitarian aid in response to the war to €348 million. This funding is part of the global commitments made by the European Commission.