You're reading: Japan will provide Ukraine with $4.5 million to support population, restore Donbas

The Japanese government will provide Ukraine with $4.5 million in aid this year to finance four projects to support the population in eastern Ukraine and the restoration of Donbas, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine said.

“It is about the provision of medical humanitarian aid to Ukraine, assistance to communities to reduce the impact of COVID-19 in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, humanitarian aid and protection of internally displaced persons and people living near the contact line in government-controlled territories of Ukraine, as well as emergency rehabilitation measures and assistance in emergency situations in Ukraine,” the Cabinet said on its website.

Assistance will be delivered through the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the International Organization for Migration, the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for the Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories Oleksiy Reznikov thanked the government of Japan and Ukraine’s international partners ICRC and the UN for their support.

“What the Japanese government and our international partners are doing today is for the people, for the sake of people and about the people, and we will work in partnership with you to ensure a normal human life for everyone living in the zone of this war today,” he said.

Reznikov recalled that “last year the Japanese government allocated $4.23 million to support Donetsk and Luhansk under various UN and ICRC programs.”

“Japan, together with the UN and the ICRC, is already implementing a number of important projects: more than 400 houses in Donetsk and Luhansk regions,damaged by hostilities, have been restored. Projects in the field of youth education and community development were implemented, urgent assistance was provided within the health care system of military personnel in Ukraine, and the like,” he said.

In turn, Japanese Ambassador to Ukraine Takashi Kurai announced support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, as well as the strategic direction of Ukraine regarding European integration and the Euro-Atlantic alliance.

“Since the declaration of independence, Japan’s aid to Ukraine has reached $3.1 billion … We believe that our assistance will contribute to structural reforms in Ukraine and the implementation of its goals,” Kurai said.

According to UN coordinator Osnat Lubrani, such support is vital for Ukraine at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic is exacerbating the already difficult situation of families and people living on both sides of the contact line in eastern Ukraine, where the conflict has been going on for 7 years.

For her part, head of the ICRC in Ukraine Florence Gillette noted that in 2021, the organization plans to help more than 3,700 households with the repair of housing damaged as a result of hostilities.