UN, partners launch 2.3 bln USD humanitarian appeal for Ukraine in 2026

UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations and its humanitarian partners on Tuesday launched the 2026 humanitarian needs and response plan for Ukraine, calling for 2.3 billion U.S. dollars, a UN spokesperson said Tuesday.

The fund is aimed at supporting more than 4 million people across Ukraine with life-saving assistance, out of the nearly 11 million people across the country who are estimated to require humanitarian assistance this year, Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN secretary-general, told a daily briefing.

He said UN humanitarians have reported widespread disruptions to electricity and to heating during extremely cold winter conditions, which are creating a crisis within an existing crisis, pushing already vulnerable people to the brink.

The spokesperson added that humanitarian needs remain most severe in front-line areas and along the northern border, where intensified shelling, destruction of civilian infrastructure and persistent disruptions to essential services is ongoing.

Meanwhile, authorities reported that attacks across Ukraine in the past day resulted in civilian casualties, and disruptions to basic services, all of this continuing in freezing temperatures, said Dujarric, adding that in Odesa, overnight attacks injured several civilians and damaged residential buildings as well as civilian facilities, including offices and premises of several UN organizations.

Across the country, rolling power outages are continuing, and some areas, including parts of the capital city of Kiev, remained without heating as temperatures dropped to 15 degrees Celsius, he said. ■