The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Edited News , Press Conferences | OCHA , UNHCR
Press Conference: Ukraine Humanitarian and Refugee Response Plans 2025 Launch Event
UN stands with people of Ukraine for the long term insists UN aid chief at humanitarian appeal launch in Kyiv
The embattled people of Ukraine and those forced abroad need $3.32 billion in lifesaving and sustained humanitarian assistance to help them cope as a fourth year of war looms after Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, UN aid chiefs said on Thursday.
The embattled people of Ukraine and those forced abroad need $3.32 billion in lifesaving and sustained humanitarian assistance to help them cope as a fourth year of war looms after Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, UN aid chiefs said on Thursday.
In a joint appeal from Kyiv, the UN’s emergency relief chief Tom Fletcher and Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said that millions of civilians inside Ukraine and abroad depend on the international community’s support, amid ongoing Russian attacks.
“The Ukrainian people have shown incredible courage over these years and we have to respond by showing a real, genuine, sustained international engagement, we have to respond with heart,” said Mr. Fletcher. “We will be here with the Ukrainian people for as long as it takes to meet these needs and to support them…We must not forget those Ukrainians who are in the occupied territories whose needs are extreme. And we must continue to be creative and brave about getting our support to those who most need it.”
The appeals are designed to support critical assistance to some six million people inside Ukraine - where overall needs are more than twice that number - and abroad, where more than 6.8 million Ukrainian refugees live. Out of the overall appeal, $2.62 billion is designated for response teams inside the country, while UNHCR has requested $690 million in 2025 and $1.2 billion for 2025-2026 to assist governments hosting refugees in 11 countries.
“The objective, of course, is not to make sure that these people are refugees forever,” said Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees. “The objective is for this to create the conditions for these people to return to Ukraine. This is what Ukraine needs and this is what the majority of the refugees want.”
Speaking to journalists on his sixth visit to Ukraine, the refugee agency chief highlighted the unrelenting impact of bomb blasts on the front line, day in, day out. Communities on the front line continue to suffer destruction and deprivation in the cold of winter, he said.
“Here, Kyiv is a big city, but when you go out there in a small town, you see how people’s lives are completely devastated; almost everybody had to leave their houses. And almost everybody has no or very few people have access to heating in the bitter cold. You know, I have observed all these years the conflict evolved, but I have to say this targeting by the Russian Federation of energy infrastructure, which is, of course, affecting civilian lives directly, is something that has to stop.”
Matthias Schmale, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine, emphasized that national NGO partners and the UN continue to deliver aid and evacuate the most vulnerable individuals, wherever access allows: “Inevitably, a big part of the needs are along the frontline,” he said. “We are supporting in particular people who have chosen to stay near the frontline and amongst those, particularly people with disabilities and older people who find it difficult to move.”
Story: Ukraine aid appeal – OCHA, UNHCR 16 January 2025
Speakers:
- Mr. Tom Fletcher, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, head of OCHA
- Mr. Filippo Grandi, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
- Mr. Matthias Schmale, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine
TRT: 03’53”
SOURCE: UNTV CH
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 16 January 2025 - KYIV, UKRAINE + OCHA broll shot 13 & 14 January 2025 + UNHCR broll shot 15 & 16 January 2025
RESTRICTIONS – CREDIT “OCHA” BROLL ON SCREEN + UNHCR broll ON SCREEN.
SHOTLIST
- Wide shot, lady with cane walking in frontline town of Bilopilia – UNHCR, 15 January.
- Wide shot, factory chimney emitting smoke, Bilopilia – UNHCR, 15 January.
- SOUNDBITE (English) Tom Fletcher, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator and head of OCHA: “Our ask, as you'll see of the world, is for 2.6 billion dollars to fund this campaign and to help us to reach six million people.”
- Medium, UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi meeting locals in Bilopilia – UNHCR, 15 January.
- Close, UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi meeting locals in Bilopilia – UNHCR, 15 January.
- SOUNDBITE (English) Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees: “The objective of course, is not to make sure that these people are refugees forever, the objective is for this to create the conditions for these people to return to Ukraine. This is what Ukraine needs and this is what the majority of the refugees want.”
- Wide, UN World Food Programme (WFP) convoy approaching Shevchenkove, Kharkiv region, approximately 30 kilometres from the front line – OCHA, 14 January.
- Medium, UN World Food Programme (WFP) truck reversing to depot – OCHA, 14 January.
- Medium, aid workers offloading supplies at a Ukrainian depot – OCHA, 14 January.
- SOUNDBITE (English) Matthias Schmale, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine: “Inevitably, a big part of the needs are along the frontline and we are supporting in particular people who have chosen to stay near the frontline and amongst those, particularly people with disabilities and older people who find it difficult to move.”
- Medium, UN Emergency Relief Chief Tom Fletcher and UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine, Matthias Schmale, accompanying the UN aid convoy – OCHA, 14 January.
- Medium, UN Emergency Relief Chief Tom Fletcher at a Ukrainian food depot – OCHA, 14 January.
- SOUNDBITE (English) Tom Fletcher, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator and head of OCHA: “We must not forget those Ukrainians who are in the occupied territories whose needs are extreme. And we must continue to be creative and brave about getting our support to those who most need it.”
- Tracking shot of destruction in Kupiansk town, Ukraine, OCHA 14 January.
- SOUNDBITE (English) Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees: “Almost everybody has no - or very few people - have access to heating in the bitter cold. You know, I have observed all these years the conflict evolved, but I have to say this targeting by the Russian Federation of energy infrastructure, which is of course, affecting civilian lives directly, is something that has to stop.”
- Wide, UN Emergency Relief Chief Tom Fletcher with Andrii Kanashevych, Head of Kupianskyi District, walking in Kupiansk Town, with UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine, Matthias Schmale, OCHA 14 January.
- SOUNDBITE (English) Tom Fletcher, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator and head of OCHA: “The Ukrainian people have shown incredible courage over these years. And we have to respond by showing a real, genuine, sustained international engagement, we have to respond with heart. And when I say sustained, I mean that we will be here with the Ukrainian people for as long as it takes to meet these needs and to support them in this moment.”
- Medium, UN Emergency Relief Chief Tom Fletcher visiting a damaged apartment in Kupiansk town, OCHA 14 January.
- Medium, UN Emergency Relief Chief Tom Fletcher in a damaged apartment belonging to Svitlana in Kupiansk town, OCHA 14 January.
- Medium-wide, damage to Svitlana’s apartment in Kupiansk town, OCHA 14 January.
- Wide, UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi and UN Emergency Relief Chief Tom Fletcher meeting Ukrainian officials, Biliopia, UNHCR 15 January.
- Medium, UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi and UN Emergency Relief Chief Tom Fletcher meeting Ukrainian officials, Biliopia, UNHCR 15 January.
- Medium-wide, UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi and UN Emergency Relief Chief Tom Fletcher meeting Ukrainian officials, Biliopia, UNHCR 15 January.
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UNECE
UNECE Press conference on the Ministerial Meeting on Housing Affordability and Sustainablility
On 8 October 2025, UNECE member States' ministers meet to focus on the urgent challenges and strategic priorities surrounding housing affordability and sustainability in the UNECE region. Ten years after the adoption of the Geneva UN Charter on Sustainable Housing, ministers will highlight challenges and key priorities for the achievement of the Charter's objectives, and present good practice and strategic solutions in this regard. As the key outcome of the meeting, ministers will be invited to agree on practical commitments towards sustainable and affordable housing.
The meeting will take place as part of the eighty-sixth session of the UNECE Committee on Urban Development, Housing and Land Management (8–10 October 2025).
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNICEF , WHO
Two years of Gaza-Israel war bring ‘indescribable’ pain: UN humanitarians
Two years since the Hamas-led terror attacks on Israel, UN humanitarians on Tuesday reiterated calls for the release of all hostages in Gaza, an immediate ceasefire and an aid surge to alleviate Palestinians’ suffering, as talks on a US-driven peace plan continued in Egypt.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | OCHA , UNHCR , UNICEF , UNOG , WHO , IPU
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by the representatives and spokespersons of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, UNICEF, the World Health Organisation, and the International Parliamentary Union.
1
1
1
Edited News
Syria prison survivor seeks justice for the missing with UN backing.
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Friday warned that three and a half years after Russia’s full-scale invasion, the war in Ukraine has entered an even more dangerous and deadly stage for Ukrainian civilians, under relentless bombardment of their schools, hospitals, and shelters.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF , WHO , ICRC
Quadcopter victims, terror and death: 30 minutes in a Gaza hospital
UN aid teams on Friday highlighted the disturbing situation in Gaza’s makeshift hospitals, where premature babies cry for scant oxygen and medics attempt to save child survivors targeted by airstrikes in their tents and quadcopter victims reportedly shot while fetching bread.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UNHCR , UNICEF , UNIS , WHO
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by the spokespersons and representatives of the United Nations Children’s Fund, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Refugee Agency, and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | HRC , OHCHR
Report of the Independent Expert on Human Rights situation in the Central African Republic.
2
1
2
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Thursday delivered his oral update to the UN Human Rights Council’s 60th session on the human rights situation in Haiti.
The High Commissioner welcomed Wednesday’s decision of the UN Security Council to strengthen the Multinational Security Support mission by transitioning to the Gang Suppression Force for Haiti, stating it is a strong signal of international support for the Haitian people.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNICEF
Gaza: As world waits for US peace plan news, UN aid teams stress need for ceasefire
UN agencies reiterated calls for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza on Tuesday to help alleviate Palestinian suffering, as a new US 20-point plan raised hopes of a halt to the fighting.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UNECE , WHO , OCHA , UNHCR , UNICEF
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by the representatives and spokespersons of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (the UN Refugee Agency), the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the United Nations Children Fund, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe and the World Health Organization.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
The ongoing Israeli military offensive in Gaza City continues to overwhelm the war-torn enclave’s medical professionals, with four more hospitals forced to shut down this month alone, the UN World Health Organization said on Friday.