Lithuania donates €50,000 to UNHCR to help people forced to flee their homes in Ukraine

At the end of December 2014, the Republic of Lithuania donated €50,000 to the UNHCR Internally Displaced People (IDPS) Operation in Ukraine. This donation is amongst the largest contributions Lithuania has made to UNHCR’s humitarian operations.

By Renata Kules, UNHCR Vilnius  |  03.01.2015

inu Lipcanu (centre, wearing baseball cap) Head of UNHCR's Mariupol field office in Ukraine, visits local residents whose houses have been damaged by artillery shelling in Avdiivka, Donetsk. © UNHCR/Markiian Lyseiko

UNHCR thanks Lithuania for this important and timely donation which will contribute to the protection and assistance of IDPs in Ukraine.  ‘This funding is extremely important and very timely, as winter season is particularly challenging for so many people displaced. We are grateful for this important support from Lithuania to help assist people in need in Ukraine’, says UNHCR Regional Representative for the Northern Europe, Pia Prytz Phiri.

According to the Ukrainian government, the number of people that are internally displaced ranges from 659,000 to 921,000. In late December 2014, UNHCR established a presence in Donetsk as part of a wider United Nations initiative to meet the acute needs in the region following security assurances received from the de facto authorities.

UNHCR supports the local government and civil society actors, as well as delivers assistance directly to the most vulnerable in Ukraine. This help has included the distribution of blankets, jackets and reinforced plastic sheets for fast temporary repairs of damaged windows and roofs in Donetsk.

UNHCR is concerned about the plight of people living in areas not controlled by the government. Conditions in these areas are worsening by the day and could result in a major and prolonged humanitarian crisis. Consequently, UNHCR is appealing for more support to assist the people of Ukraine during the coming year.

UNHCR is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions, mainly from governments. In 2014, UNHCR received US$3.3 billion in contributions, of which US$3.2 originated from governmental or private donors.