Humanitarian aid reaches 6.4 mn people in Ukraine: UN

More than 6.4 million people have been provided with vital humanitarian assistance in Ukraine since Russia waged its ongoing war on February 24, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said.

This includes more than 5.7 million people who have been able to put food on their table, while cash assistance has been provided to over 655,000 people, allowing them to cover some of their most basic needs, Xinhua news agency quoted the OCHA as saying on Friday.

More than 1.5 million people have received health care support, and around 352,000 people have been provided with clean water and hygiene products.

Nearly 430,000 people have received protection services, psychosocial support and critical legal services, including support to internally displaced persons, it added.

The UN agency warned that despite this remarkable scale-up, many more people urgently need support, including those living in areas experiencing heavy fighting.

The world body urges parties to the conflict to remove any barriers to the movement of humanitarian staff to ensure the continued delivery of life-saving assistance across Ukraine, the OCHA added.