UN asks for $4.2 billion in humanitarian aid for Ukraine, Ukrainian refugees

The UN released a request on Jan. 15 for $4.2 billion to help support Ukraine and Ukrainian refugees.

The UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimated that some 14.6 million Ukrainians, approximately 40% of the population, need humanitarian assistance. This figure does not include the estimated 6.3 million Ukrainians forced to flee abroad.

In order to address the needs of those within Ukraine, OCHA requested $3.1 billion, which will support 8.5 million people.

The UN's High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) asked international partners and donors for $1.1 billion, which will target 2.3 million Ukrainian refugees and their host communities abroad.

“Although their plight is no longer in the headlines, millions of refugees from Ukraine still need urgent support,” said UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi.

According to the statement, only 40-60% of Ukrainian refugees are employed, in many cases underemployed, only around half of school-aged children are actually enrolled in schools, and another quarter of refugees have difficulty accessing quality healthcare.

"Host countries continue to extend protection and include them in society, but many vulnerable refugees still need help," said Grandi.

‘It’s their turn now:’ Ukrainians call on government to demobilize exhausted soldiers fighting for nearly two years

Over a hundred women braved a snowstorm in early December to gather in central Kyiv’s Independence Square and call on the government to demobilize their relatives who have been on the front lines since the first days of the invasion. Draped in Ukrainian flags, women chanted “It’s their

The Kyiv IndependentAlexander Query