The United Nations delivered humanitarian supplies to the Ukrainian city of Kherson on Monday, less than three days after Ukrainian troops regained control of the city following the withdrawal of Russian forces, the first time aid workers have entered the town since it fell to Russia in early March.
The humanitarian convoy has delivered food, water, hygiene kits, shelter materials and household goods to more than 6,000 people, while a health center in the town will receive medicine to treat more than 1,000 patients over the next month.
«The people of Kherson are struggling to meet their basic needs, adding to the trauma of having suffered months of constant shelling, having to flee their homes and seeing loved ones killed or injured,» said UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine Denise Brown.
Brown stressed that «people need urgent support» and called for «swift action to help them» amid water and electricity shortages in the city, where markets are also running out of food and medical centers are short of medicines.
He also showed his «confidence» that, «with support from partners, particularly local organizations», the UN «will be able to do much more in the coming days and weeks». «We have to be with the people of Kherson at this time of need,» he concluded.
The convoy included the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Food Program (WFP), according to a note from the international organization.
The UN has stressed that the international community will continue to mobilize resources to expand its operations and deliver aid in the Kherson region. In recent weeks, aid has been delivered to 12,000 people in other localities in the region recaptured by Ukrainian troops.
