The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a meeting chaired by Minister for International Development Pekka Haavisto decided to deliver the aid to its destination through UNHCR and the UN Refugee Agency, which has a key role in assisting Ukrainians forced to flee their homes.
“The humanitarian situation in East Ukraine has deteriorated rapidly with an increase in the fighting. Women and children make up a large share of those who have had to leave their homes. These displaced people are in urgent need of lodging, food and other basics,” said Haavisto.
Refugees from south-eastern Ukraine arrive at a refugee camp set in the Russian border city of Donetsk near Rostov on Don, on August 6, 2014. The number of Ukrainian refugees in this camp which can accommodate 1.000 people, has exceeded 1,500 people, the spokesperson for the regional government, Alexander Titov, said on Wednesday. Some 285,000 people have already fled their homes due to the conflict in east Ukraine, it estimated, with many leaving for other parts of the country, but close to 168,000 seeking sanctuary in Russia. Photo – AFP / Lehtikuva.
The minister said, “Humanitarian aid given by Finland is always based on international humanitarian principles; it is independent and impartial. At the same time, I hope that a political solution to the conflict is found as quickly as possible.”
More than 155,000 Ukrainians are already registered as internally displaced persons, but according to UNHCR, the number of people who have fled from their homes to other areas may actually be much higher. Of those who have registered, 85 per cent have fled from East Ukraine.
Most have left their homes because of the violence or the humanitarian consequences of the crisis, including lack of water, food and medicine. People returning home, in turn, need assistance in repairing buildings destroyed in combat so that they are again suitable for residential use.
Refugees from south-eastern Ukraine wait as they arrive at a refugee camp set in Donetsk near Rostov on Don, on August 6, 2014. The number of Ukrainian refugees in this camp which can accommodate 1.000 people, has exceeded 1,500 people, the spokesperson for the regional government, Alexander Titov, said on Wednesday. Some 285,000 people have already fled their homes due to the conflict in east Ukraine, it estimated, with many leaving for other parts of the country, but close to 168,000 seeking sanctuary in Russia. Photo – AFP / Lehtikuva.
On August 14, the United Nations and the Government of Ukraine announced a preliminary joint plan, according to which various UN organisations need a total of USD 33.3 million (approximately 25 million euros) to respond to the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine.
UNHCR’s share of the amount is one third. UNHCR assists, among others, in surveying the needs of those internally displaced together with the Ukrainian authorities and various organisations, it distributes humanitarian aid to the most needy and helps the government to create new legislation that secures the situation of those who have had to leave their homes.
Earlier, in March, Finland granted 500,000 euros to alleviate the humanitarian situation in Ukraine. This aid was delivered through the Finnish Red Cross.
