US to provide $205 million in humanitarian aid to Ukraine

On June 16, the U.S. State Department pledged to provide $205 million in additional humanitarian assistance for Ukraine in order to support those affected by Russia's war.

"U.S. humanitarian assistance provides the people of Ukraine with critical support, including food, safe drinking water, protection services, education, livelihoods, legal assistance, accessible shelter, health care, and more through our international and non-governmental partners in the region," the press statement said.

These funds should also help with the reunification of separated family members, according to the brief.

The State Department noted that more than 6 million Ukrainian refugees have fled the country and over 5 million have been internally displaced.

According to the statement, the U.S. has provided Ukraine with $2.1 billion of humanitarian aid since the start of the invasion in February 2022. Together with the June 16 package, the aid for Fiscal Year 2023 has amounted to $605 million.

Ukraine's humanitarian crisis caused by Russia's war of aggression has been exacerbated by the Kakhovka dam destruction on June 6 and the subsequent flooding of the Dnipro River.

Up to 700,000 people lack access to drinking water and around 3,000 residents had to be evacuated from the affected areas. Many of Ukraine's partners increased their supply of humanitarian aid following the disaster.

‘They are destroying us.’ People plea to escape flooded Russian-occupied areas

Editor’s note: For this story, we spoke to people living or having family in the Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine. For their safety, they are identified by first name only. After destroying the Nova Kakhovka dam and stranding thousands of Ukrainians in the catastrophic flood zone, Russians prevent…

The Kyiv IndependentDaria Shulzhenko