UN Security Council to meet on deteriorating Ukraine humanitarian situation

UNITED NATIONS — The UN Security Council is to hold an open meeting on the worsening humanitarian situation in Ukraine as the Russian offensive intensifies.

The United States and Albania request the meeting, which will hear briefings by UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths and Catherine Russell, executive director of the UN. children’s agency UNICEF, diplomats say.

At the request of France and Mexico, the council meeting on Monday will be followed by closed consultations on a draft resolution on the humanitarian plight of millions of Ukrainians that the two countries have been spearheading, the diplomats say, speaking on condition of anonymity because negotiations on the meeting have been private.

The United Nations launched an emergency appeal on March 1 for $1.7 billion to respond to soaring humanitarian needs of both people who fled Ukraine and who remain in the country. It immediately received pledges of $1.5 billion, and has urged that the pledges be turned into cash quickly.

The UN estimates that 12 million people staying in Ukraine and four million fleeing to neighboring countries in the coming months will need humanitarian aid.