UN, partners provide life-saving aid to 13.5 mn people in Ukraine

A UN spokesperson has said that the UN and humanitarian partners continue to provide life-saving assistance to people affected by the conflict in Ukraine.

"Since February, aid workers have provided critical aid and protection services to some 13.5 million people across all regions of Ukraine," Stephanie Tremblay, an associate spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said on Thursday at a regular briefing at the UN headquarters in New York.

The spokesperson added that more than 4.2 million people have received cash assistance over the past eight months and that markets are reopening, as the government works to restore banking services in the Kharkiv and Kherson regions, where Ukraine has recently regained control, Xinhua news agency reported.

"Since the beginning of the war, we and our partners have provided health services to more than 8.6 million people," Tremblay added.

Meanwhile, as infrastructure damage has made it increasingly difficult for communities to access clean water, the UN and its partners continue to provide water and hygiene assistance, having reached 5.7 million people so far.