UN pledges $20M in humanitarian aid to Ukraine

Repeating a plea for Russia to halt its invasion of Ukraine, the U.N. chief said Thursday the world body was freeing up $20 million for urgent humanitarian needs in the country. “Stop the military operation. Bring the troops back to Russia,” Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said at U.N. headquarters.

Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary-General said "Today, I'm announcing that we will immediately allocate 20 million U.S. dollars from the Central Emergency Response Fund to meet urgent needs….. We are providing lifesaving humanitarian relief to people in need, regardless of who or where they are. The protection of civilians must be priority number one. International, humanitarian and human rights law must be upheld.

The U.N. said Thursday it was relocating some of its roughly 1,500 staffers in Ukraine. However, Guterres reiterated that the U.N. will continue providing aid to people in the country, “regardless of who or where they are.”