MOSCOW, December 11 (Sputnik) – Moscow will allot up to $5 million in humanitarian aid to Ukraine in 2014 in line with the UN World Food Program (UN WFP), the press center of Russia’s Cabinet of Ministers reported Thursday.
“A decision was made to allot $5 million from the 2014 federal budget as a single voluntary contribution from the Russian Federation into the UN World Food [Program] in order to finance expenditures in providing humanitarian aid to the population of Ukraine through the UN WFM channels,” the press center said in a statement.
In April Kiev launched a military offensive against independence supporters in eastern Ukraine, who refused to recognize the legitimacy of a new government that they claim came to power following a February coup. According to the UN estimates, approximately 4,300 people have been killed and 10,000 injured during the conflict.
As the result of the operation, Ukraine's southeastern regions are experiencing a severe humanitarian catastrophe. Russia's ninth humanitarian aid convoy for the residents of Donbas has been dispatched. Since mid-August eight humanitarian convoys from Russia have delivered more than 10,700 tons of aid to the eastern Ukraine cities of Donetsk and Luhansk.
