Relief official: 5 million people affected by Ukraine conflict, UN trying to boost aid work

BUDAPEST, Hungary – U.N. humanitarian chief Valerie Amos says the organization is trying to increase aid activities in Ukraine to help more than 5 million people affected by the conflict between the government and Russia-backed rebels.

Amos told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the U.N. has been able to provide supplies and other aid in three of the five areas it has targeted for relief efforts in eastern Ukraine — Kharkiv, Donetsk and Mariupol. Offices in Luhansk and Dnipropetrovsk are not yet fully staffed.

Amos said the continuing insecurity was limiting U.N. efforts to establish a more visible presence in eastern Ukraine.

The U.N. said it recorded $72 million in humanitarian support for Ukraine in 2014, while this year its humanitarian appeal has requested $189 million.