US to Allocate Another $50Bln Through WFP for Humanitarian Aid to Ukraine

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The United States will allocate another $50 billion through the UN World Food Programme to support humanitarian efforts in Ukraine and Eastern Europe, Vice President Kamala Harris said on Thursday.

"Today we are also announcing ... that we will give another $50 billion through the UN World Food Programme to assist with humanitarian aid," she said at a joint press conference with Polish President Andrzej Duda in Warsaw.

In a separate press release, the White House said that "$53 million in new humanitarian assistance" from the US government will support civilians in Ukraine as Russia conducts a military operation in the country.

The assistance include support to the UN World Food Programme "to provide lifesaving emergency food assistance to meet immediate needs of hundreds of thousands affected by the invasion, including people who are displaced from their homes and who are crossing the border out of Ukraine," it added.

"In addition, it will support WFP’s logistics operations to move assistance into Ukraine, including to people in Kyiv," the statement said.

Harris told Duda that Washington understands the burden the current refugee crisis has put on Poland.

"The United States is absolutely prepared to do what we can and what we must to support Poland in terms of the burden they have taken on," she told Duda.

Harris is currently in Poland and will later travel to Romania to participate in high-level talks about NATO posture adjustments and other steps being coordinated with allies in response to Russia's operation in Ukraine.

The vice president will discuss with US diplomats the situation in Ukraine and efforts to help Ukrainian refugees heading to Poland. Before leaving Warsaw, Harris will meet with American and Polish troops to express support for their mission to enhance deterrence and protect collective defense, her office said.

Russia began a special military operation in Ukraine on February 24 after the Donbas republics appealed for help in defending themselves against Ukrainian forces. The Russian Defense Ministry said the special operation is targeting Ukrainian military infrastructure only and the civilian population is not in danger. In response, Western nations have rolled out a comprehensive sanctions campaign against Moscow.

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