United Nations Secretary General António Guterres has announced the allocation of 20 million US dollars as humanitarian support to Ukraine, with the rise of fatalities following the Russian invasion of the country.
The top UN official reminded that "people – everyday innocent people -- always pay the highest price" and said this is why the UN is scaling up its humanitarian operations in and around Ukraine.
“Today I am announcing that we will immediately allocate 20 million US dollars from the Central Emergency Response Fund to meet urgent needs,” Guterres told reporters on Thursday.
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He reiterated that the UN and its humanitarian partners are committed to staying and delivering, to support people in Ukraine in their time of need.
Russian military operations inside the sovereign territory of Ukraine “on a scale that Europe has not seen in decades, conflict directly with the United Nations Charter,” he said.
Despite a sustained UN-led and international diplomatic push to avert military action in Ukraine, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin did just that – triggering a barrage of reactions, beginning with the UN chief, condemning the move and appealing for peace.
“All nembers shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations,” he said, quoting the Charter.
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He underscored that the use of force by one country against another is “the repudiation of the principles that every country has committed to uphold”, which he stated, applies to the present military offensive.
"It is wrong. It is against the Charter. It is unacceptable. But it is not irreversible”, the UN chief said.
He went on to repeat the appeal he made to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday night. "Stop the military operation. Bring the troops back to Russia”, he reiterated.
Assisting both sides
He told journalists that UN staff are working on “both sides of the contact line”, providing lifesaving humanitarian relief to people in need, “regardless of who or where they are”.
“The protection of civilians must be priority number one," he stressed.