EU hosts high-level meeting on Ukraine to address humanitarian response

On 16 April, the European Union hosted the Fourth Humanitarian Senior Officials Meeting in Brussels to take stock of the most pressing humanitarian challenges in war-torn Ukraine.

The meeting was opened by European Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič and the Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine and Minister of Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Area, Iryna Vereshchuk.

This high-level meeting brought together key humanitarian organisations and donors and local Ukrainian agencies. Issues discussed included funding for the current year, engagement with local humanitarian organisations, effective delivery of supplies and the transition of affected communities to more sustainable livelihoods.

Commissioner Lenarčič said Russia’s brutal aggression continued to destroy lives every single day. “We must insist on protection and provide life-saving support to the millions of Ukrainians in dire need of aid. While transitioning to recovery and reconstruction is crucial for rebuilding Ukraine, we cannot ignore the immediate critical humanitarian needs on the ground today,” the Commissioner said. 

Since Russia’s full scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the European Commission has allocated €860 million for humanitarian aid programmes in Ukraine, and €66 million to support refugees who have fled to neighbouring Moldova. In addition, more than 146,000 tonnes of in-kind assistance has been sent to Ukraine via the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, including medical supplies, mobile hospitals, shelters, vehicles, school buses, firefighting equipment, and much more.

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Press release