Humanitarian aid for Ukraine is dwindling, says health official

WARSAW (Reuters) – The amount of humanitarian aid arriving in Ukraine is beginning to wane even as the Russian bombardment persists, Ukrainian Deputy Health Minister Oleksii Iaremenko said on Sunday.

Speaking in a cargo warehouse near Warsaw’s Chopin airport during a delivery of medical equipment facilitated by charity Direct Relief, Iaremenko said he was grateful to the international community for the relief provided so far.

The shipment bound for Ukraine included everything from metal beds to gauze to asthma inhalers and oxygen concentrators. But more support was desperately needed, Iaremenko added, calling on other organisations to send aid.

“For the last week what we see that the level of humanitarian support is a little bit down. We hope that it will be some pause to find new resources and because Russian aggression are increasing and they are bombing civilians,” he told Reuters.

“What we are asking, if you can support, please support right now,” he said. “Don’t wait for weeks and months, because we need the support right now.”

The conflict in Ukraine has caused a humanitarian crisis and displaced an estimated 10 million people, nearly a quarter of the country’s population, according to the United Nations.

Moscow says it is conducting what it calls a “special military operation” with the aim of demilitarising and “denazifying” its neighbour, and denies targeting civilians.

Ukraine and its Western allies characterise Russia’s actions as an unprovoked invasion.

(Reporting by Joanna Plucinska; Editing by Pravin Char)