The humanitarian situation in Ukraine is worrying. People’s lives are badly affected by the ongoing fighting in eastern Ukraine; according to United Nations reports, about 60,000 people are already internally displaced. People in eastern Ukraine now need visible signals so they can see we are not indifferent to them.

The Ukrainian Government has promised the people in the eastern part of the country, and above all those in currently disputed cities like Slavyansk and Kramatorsk, rapid help so they can get back to leading normal lives as quickly as possible. The Federal Government supports this initiative.

Federal Foreign Minister Frank‑Walter Steinmeier has decided to increase humanitarian aid for Ukraine by 2.5 million euros, bringing the total amount to 3.5 million euros.

The funds are intended above all to help those living in the badly affected areas in eastern Ukraine, for example in Slavyansk and Kramatorsk, as well as the internally displaced persons. In this connection, the Federal Foreign Office is working together in Ukraine with the German Red Cross and its partner organisation, the Ukrainian Red Cross, as well as with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).