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
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani on Tuesday made the following remarks on the current situation in the Middle-East.
1
1
1
1
Press Conferences | HRC
Special Rapporteur Alice Jill Edwards reports on torture victims' rights.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNHCR , WFP
Schoolgirls killed, thousands displaced, aid routes compromised: UN humanitarians deplore effects of new Middle East war
On the fourth day of Israeli and United States airstrikes against Iran and amid growing violence and instability in the Middle East, the UN urgently called for protection of civilians and warned of growing displacement and humanitarian needs.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UNOG , UNHCR , UNICEF , OHCHR , IFRC , WHO , WFP
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, chaired the hybrid briefing, which was attended by spokespersons and representatives from the UNHCR, OHCHR, UNICEF, IFRC, WFP and WHO.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | HRC , OHCHR
Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan - report on women's and girls' right to health in Afghanistan
1
1
1
Edited News | IOM
Well over 1.3 million people have fled Sudan’s ongoing war for South Sudan, the UN migration agency, IOM, reported on Friday, amid rising violence and a massive humanitarian emergency linked to the country’s political crisis.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | IOM
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, chaired the hybrid briefing, which was attended by spokespersons and representatives from the International Organization for Migration.
2
1
2
Statements , Conferences , Edited News | HRC , OHCHR
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Friday presented to the 61st Human Rights Council his global update on the human rights situation.
2
1
2
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Thursday presented to the UN Human Rights Council a new report on the human rights situation in occupied Palestinian territory.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | OHCHR
Attacks against the UN system, Special procedures and the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories (OPT)
2
1
2
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Thursday briefed the Human Rights Council in Geneva on the human rights situation in Sudan: “Nearly three years of brutal conflict have almost turned Sudan into a land of despair. The report I am presenting today is yet another chapter in the chronicle of cruelty. It outlines clear, ongoing patterns of violence against civilians, including killings, rape, and torture. As the fighting has intensified, violations of international law by all parties to the conflict have surged, while accountability has remained practically absent,” he said.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Thursday told the Human Rights Council in Geneva today: “Afghanistan is a graveyard for human rights. The cascade of edicts and laws announced by the de facto authorities since coming to power in 2021 is having a crushing impact on the Afghan people, particularly women and girls.”