Berlin Sends Aid for Internally Displaced Donbass Residents

The German government sent 46 tonnes of food and handed over 9,000 units of heaters and bedding goods to the Red Cross Committee for further distribution among internally displaced people, according to Ukrainian State Emergency Service.

KIEV (Sputnik) — The German government has sent some 46 metric tons of food for the internally displaced Donbass residents, Ukrainian State Emergency Service said in a statement Tuesday.

According to Assistant UN Secretary-General for Human Rights Ivan Simonovic, in September, more than 1.5 million people were estimated by the Ukrainian authorities to be internally displaced.

"Some 46 tonnes of food and 9,000 units of heaters and bedding goods have been handed over to the Red Cross Committee for further distribution among internally displaced people," the statement said.

Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk regions have been severely affected by fighting between Ukrainian troops and Donbass militia, which started in April 2014 when Kiev launched a military operation in the region.

According to the United Nations, some 150,000 people are not receiving monthly food distributions in southeastern Ukraine, access to water for some 1.3 million people is at risk, and over 30,000 people have not received shelter materials and the household items they urgently need.