Rockets have been “raining down” on Ukraine’s cities and hundreds
of people have been killed or injured since the Russian military
offensive began, the UN Secretary-General said on
Tuesday, at the launch of a $1.7 billion flash appeal to provide
urgently-needed assistance.
António
Guterres’s comments came as latest UN data indicated
that 677,000 people have fled Ukraine since 24 February.
“United Nations agencies and our partners are now working 24-7 to
assess humanitarian needs and scale up aid, particularly to
women, children, older people and those with
disabilities,” Mr. Guterres said, before
thanking Member States that have kept their borders open to
people fleeing the violence.
“We must help Ukrainians help each other through this terrible
time,” the UN chief insisted, adding that electricity and
water supplies have been disrupted, roads have been “damaged or
destroyed by bombs” and food and medicine were in short supply in
some areas.
Broad reach
In Geneva, UN emergency relief chief Martin
Griffiths, explained that
the purpose of the call for immediate humanitarian funding was to
help people inside Ukraine – including those internally displaced
– as well as those seeking shelter beyond its borders.
An estimated $1.1 billion is needed for the response inside
Ukraine for three months, to help six million of the most
vulnerable in Ukraine, as the escalating conflict has triggered
an immediate and steep rise in demand for lifesaving aid. But
essential supplies and services are being disrupted, as civilians
flee for their lives.
Refugee spike
Also briefing journalists, High Commissioner for
Refugees, Filippo Grandi, appealed for “$550 million for the
refugee agency and 12 partner agencies”. Noting that 520,000
people were estimated to have been displaced by the Ukraine
crisis just last night, Mr. Grandi said that this had already
risen sharply, in the space of just a few hours: “677,000
refugees have now fled Ukraine to neighboring countries in the
past six days,” he said. “That is 150,000 more, in less than 24
hours.”
The UN estimates that 12 million people inside Ukraine will need
relief and protection, while more than four million refugees may
need protection and assistance in neighboring countries in the
coming months.
On 27 February 2022, as military operations continue, people
fleeing Ukraine walk along vehicles lining up to cross the border
from Ukraine into Poland.
‘Third class citizens’
Reacting to reports that third-country refugees have been
ill-treated at border crossings and inside Ukraine as they try to
seek shelter, the UN refugee chief insisted that “there should be
absolutely no discrimination between Ukrainians and
non-Ukrainians. Europeans and non-Europeans. Everybody is fleeing
from the same risks.”
While the European Union is discussing the possibility of giving
temporary protection status to refugees from Ukraine, the tragedy
is “likely to introduce a new dimension to the many years of
debate on asylum status, responsibility sharing and so forth”,
said Mr. Grandi.
The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, has already received
more than $40 million in private contributions from individuals
or companies, an “unprecedented” feat, he added. “I’ve never seen
it and I think it's positive.
