Estonia donates humanitarian aid to Donbas hostility zone residents

Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs allocates 351,700 euros of humanitarian aid to support people living in the Donbas hostility zone. Estonian Foreign Minister Eva-Maria Liimets stated this, as ERR news agency reported.

Eight years of armed conflict in eastern Ukraine have exacerbated the humanitarian crisis and it needs constant international attention and support.

“The conflict has affected the lives of almost five million people, more than three million of whom are in need of humanitarian assistance. For many residents, the problem is the lack of medical care and utilities electricity, water and heating,” she said.

“These problems are exacerbated in the current difficult security situation, so we decided to support Ukraine with additional humanitarian aid to help alleviate the suffering of people living near the border,” Limets added.

Earlier, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania have announced they would provide anti-armor and antiaircraft missiles to Ukraine to help the country in the event of a possible Russian invasion.

Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said during his recent visit to Kyiv that his country would allocate 2.5 million euros in humanitarian aid to Ukraine.

Sweden would allocate EUR 22 million to Ukraine annually within seven years as part of a new cooperation strategy to support reforms in the country.

Ukraine’s Ministry of Reintegration, together with the UN Office in Ukraine, presented the Project for Inclusion of the Young Generation in the Programs of Social Unity and World Development.

Read also: Ukraine, UN continue pro-humanitarian policy in Donbas amid Russia’s possible invasion (video)

Thousands of homes, schools, and hospitals were destroyed since Russian-led forces invaded Ukraine. According to UNICEF, ever 14,000 people have been killed. Nearly 3 million Ukrainians, including a million elderly people and half a million children, urgently need food, shelter, and other life-saving assistance. An estimated, 1.8 million people in eastern Ukraine require humanitarian assistance. Many residents in Luhansk and Donetsk provinces had to leave their homes after Russian forces invaded.