Excellencies,

Distinguished Colleagues,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Ukraine commends the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs for holding this important briefing on the humanitarian situation in eastern Ukraine.

I would like to express gratitude to all UN agencies, our bilateral partners and humanitarian actors for their efforts aimed at improving the unsatisfactory living conditions of the civilian population in the conflict-affected areas of Donbas caused by the Russian aggression.

We count that the 2021 Humanitarian Response Plan for Ukraine will be properly financed and implemented.

At the same time, the humanitarian crisis in eastern Ukraine cannot be considered in isolation from its causes.

That is why I would like to use this opportunity to draw your attention to the plenary debate of the General Assembly on agenda item 65 “The situation in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine” to be held on 23 February.

The meeting will allow us to discuss the sheer scale and far-reaching repercussions of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict in-all-complexity, including humanitarian, social, political, security, human rights, ecological, gender and other its dimensions.

In view of this, we encourage active participation by all delegations in this debate.