IOM Allocates $25Mln to Support Civilians in Crisis-Hit Ukraine

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) launched a program on Tuesday to help the civilians suffering due to the conflict in Eastern Ukraine, allocating $25 million to support over 180,000 people.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The conflict in the southeastern Ukraine broke out in 2014, when Kiev forces and self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk people republics' militia started to clash, after the two regions refused to recognize the new Ukrainian government that came to power in what they perceive to be a coup.

The situation worsened in late January when the battles between Kiev forces and eastern Ukraine's militia intensified in the towns of Avdiivka and Yasynuvata in Donbass, where the population is suffering from the lack of running water and central heating.

"Many of the people who need urgent help are trapped in villages along the contact line without fuel for heating and cooking, hot water, food, or basic necessities … There are 1.6 million people displaced across the country, many of whom are jobless, struggling to pay their utility bills and lacking funds for food and medical expenses," Manfred Profazi, IOM’s chief of mission for Ukraine, was quoted as saying in a statement.

The IOM will provide the vulnerable civilians in Donbass region with hygiene products, blankets, coal and financial aid, while the displaced people will be provided with grants and other support.

"In situations of mass displacement there is a hugely elevated risk of human trafficking …Traffickers know the market and cynically move in to exploit vulnerable people who are desperate to provide for their families. We will work with communities both to prevent it happening and to assist victims," Profazi stressed.

The organization also plans to restore social infrastructure in the region.