UN, partners seek $190mn for vulnerable people in Ukraine's east

With a global focus on Ukraine, the UN and partners are seeking $190 million to aid the most vulnerable people in Ukraine's east, UN humanitarians has said.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said it focuses on the need and protection of the 2.9 million people along the "contact line" in Donetsk and Luhansk while international attention is on the broader Ukraine-Russia tensions, Xinhua news agency reported.

The office said it aims to alleviate the suffering of the most vulnerable 1.8 million people along both sides of the contact line with the $190 million it seeks in the Ukraine humanitarian response plan for 2022.

Intermittent fighting breaks out along a cease-fire line drawn following the breakaway of the easternmost Donetsk and Luhansk regions eight years ago. They are not recognised internationally.

"Our ability to reach these people largely depends on two factors," OCHA said.

"First, we need safe and unfettered access across all areas where there are humanitarian needs. Second, we urgently need donors to step up their support and fund our humanitarian response plan."

The office said its humanitarian operations in Ukraine and elsewhere "are guided by the internationally recognized principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and operational independence."