United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks to the press at the UN headquarters in New York, on Feb. 24, 2022. Guterres announced Thursday that the world body will allocate 20 million U.S. dollars from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to meet the urgent needs in Ukraine, which is in the midst of a military conflict with Russia. (Xinhua/Xie E)
UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) — United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced Thursday that the world body will allocate 20 million U.S. dollars from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to meet the urgent needs in Ukraine, which is in the midst of a military conflict with Russia.
“Today I am announcing that we will immediately allocate 20 million U.S. dollars from the Central Emergency Response Fund to meet urgent needs,” the UN chief told reporters at the UN headquarters in New York.
“We and our humanitarian partners are committed to staying and delivering, to support people in Ukraine in their time of need,” said the secretary-general.
He said that UN staff are working on both sides of the contact line, “always guided by the humanitarian principles of neutrality, impartiality, humanity and independence.”
“We are providing lifesaving humanitarian relief to people in need, regardless of who or where they are,” he said.
“The protection of civilians must be priority number one,” noted the top UN official. “International humanitarian and human rights law must be upheld.” โ
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks to the press at the UN headquarters in New York, on Feb. 24, 2022. Guterres announced Thursday that the world body will allocate 20 million U.S. dollars from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to meet the urgent needs in Ukraine, which is in the midst of a military conflict with Russia. (Xinhua/Xie E)
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks to the press at the UN headquarters in New York, on Feb. 24, 2022. Guterres announced Thursday that the world body will allocate 20 million U.S. dollars from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to meet the urgent needs in Ukraine, which is in the midst of a military conflict with Russia.
Here are all the latest updates:
- Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, mainly exchanged views on the current Ukrainian situation during their phone conversation on Friday.ย โ
- Ukrainian officials are preparing for a Russian assault on the capital, Kyiv, as the full-scale attack enters a second day.
- President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says 137 people have been killed so far, including civilians.
- The UNโs refugee agency says about 100,000 Ukrainians have been displaced, with thousands fleeing to nearby European states.
- Western powers have announced sweeping sanctions on Russia.
- Hundreds of Russians have staged anti-war protests in cities across the country.