Humanitarian aid reaches 6.4 mln people in Ukraine: UN

UNITED NATIONS, May 13 (Xinhua) -- More than 6.4 million people have been reached with vital humanitarian assistance in Ukraine since the country's military conflict with Russia started on Feb. 24, said UN humanitarians on Friday.

This includes more than 5.7 million people who have been able to put food on their table. Cash assistance has been provided to over 655,000 people, allowing them to cover some of their most basic needs, said the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

More than 1.5 million people have received health care support, and around 352,000 people have been provided with clean water and hygiene products. Nearly 430,000 people have received protection services, psychosocial support and critical legal services, including support to internally displaced persons, it said.

Despite this remarkable scale-up, many more people urgently need support, including those living in areas experiencing heavy fighting. The United Nations urges parties to the conflict to remove any barriers to the movement of humanitarian staff to ensure the continued delivery of life-saving assistance across Ukraine, said OCHA.