United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks to the press at the UN headquarters in New York, Feb. 22, 2022.(Photo: Xinhua)

 
The United Nations and partners are attempting to meet the needs of people on both sides of the contact line in Ukraine despite volatile hostilities and limited funds, a UN spokesman said on Wednesday.

"Our colleagues in (Ukraine) continue to receive reports of hostilities impacting civilians and their properties, as well as infrastructure on both sides of the 'contact line,'" said Stephane Dujarric, the chief spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. "Once again, we call on all parties to take all measures to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure."

He told reporters in a regular briefing, "despite the volatile security situation the United Nations and its humanitarian partners in eastern Ukraine are making all efforts to respond to the needs of people on both sides of that line."

Guterres earlier said in a speech at a General Assembly session on Ukraine how the global body works in the field during such hostilities. "Our humanitarian operations are independent of whoever might control the territory where people are living."

He said that since the start of the year, the world organization and its partners delivered 140 metric tons of life-saving aid across the contact line.

"Here again, our actions are based entirely on humanitarian principles endorsed by the General Assembly," the UN chief said. "United Nations humanitarian assistance is guided by four humanitarian principles: humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence."

Guterres added that the principles are central to establishing and maintaining access to affected people, including those in the context of an armed conflict.

Dujarric said the existing Humanitarian Response Plan for 2022 has been funded by less than 10 percent.

"We are calling on donors to prioritize their support to this plan, which seeks 190 million U.S. dollars to address the needs of 1.8 million of the most vulnerable people on both sides of the 'contact line,'" the spokesman said, adding that limited funding limits response efforts on both sides.

The contact line separates the breakaway states in the easternmost Donbass region from the rest of Ukraine.