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Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, has ordered two emergency relief flights to support 85,000 people fleeing the conflict in Ukraine.
The planes carrying essential aid have departed from airports in Dubai and Sharjah.
The transport of the relief material was enabled by International Humanitarian City in Dubai (IHC).
Emirates airline provided its Boeing 777-ER Cargo plane for the first aid shipment that left from Dubai for Warsaw, Poland.
This aid, which was transported as part of the collective efforts of both UN and charitable organisations, is expected to support about 50,000 people.
The second flight, operated by Aramex airline, departed from Sharjah airport for Liege, Belgium, carrying an aid consignment from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the UN refugee agency. This aid material is expected to assist a further 35,000 people.
The latest aid comes in addition to the aircraft dispatched by the UAE on March 7 as part of its emergency relief efforts to assist civilians in Ukraine.
“UNHCR is proud of its strategic partnership with IHC in Dubai and we appreciate this important contribution which represents the generosity of the government of the UAE and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid,” said Nadia Jbour, head of the UNHCR office in the UAE.
The UAE has called for a peaceful resolution to the war in Ukraine using diplomatic means.
This month, the UAE announced it would provide $5 million in relief aid to affected civilians in Ukraine in response to an urgent appeal by the UN.
“The UAE stresses the importance of focusing on the deteriorating humanitarian situation for civilians and ensuring their protection,” state news agency Wam reported.
Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, emphasised the need for a diplomatic solution to the war in Ukraine during a visit to Moscow on Thursday. He and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov discussed the crisis in Ukraine and the related global food and energy crises.
“The UAE welcomes all mediation efforts to bring the parties together and to prioritise regional and international peace and stability,” said Sheikh Abdullah following the meeting.
“We also stressed the need to intensify efforts to consider the available options on humanitarian issues, most importantly unimpeded humanitarian access that would ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid to those in need.
“I would also like to take this opportunity to affirm the confidence that the UAE places in the parties' ability to seek a political solution and to build on the existing talks between the parties.
“The UAE is fully prepared to support all efforts aimed at finding a peaceful solution to the Ukraine conflict. We also affirm our full readiness to engage with all parties to reach a ceasefire agreement.”
Ukraine war latest - in pictures
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A woman cries near a building damaged by shelling in Kyiv as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues. EPA -
A satellite photo from Planet Labs PBC shows the damage from a Russian strike on Lviv's international airport. AP -
Destroyed cars hit by shelling in Kyiv. EPA -
A woman stands in her home after her building was damaged by shelling in Kyiv. EPA -
A pedestrian looks at a cloud of smoke rising after an explosion in Lviv. AP -
General view of a street behind a barricade in the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa. EPA -
The UN Security Council meets on threats to international peace and security in New York. AFP -
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin speaks with US troops at an army training range in Bulgaria. AP -
Empty strollers are seen outside the Lviv city council building during an action to highlight the number of children killed during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. AFP -
Children play on the stage of the theatre of the Ukrainian House where a shelter for refugees has been installed in Przemysl, south-eastern Poland. AFP -
Smoke is seen above buildings close to the airport in Lviv, Ukraine. Lviv's mayor said the airport was not hit, but an area nearby. Getty Images -
Ukrainian firefighters try to extinguish a blaze at a warehouse after a bombing in Kyiv. AP Photo -
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy presents flowers to Kateryna Vlasenko, 16 - who was injured as she fled with her family from the town of Vorzel - at a hospital in Kyiv. Reuters -
Igor, a 40 year-old Ukranian soldier, embraces his wife in front of his military basement in the centre of Odesa. AFP -
Ukrainian refugees arrive at the reception centre near Palanca Village, about 3 kilometres from the Moldova-Ukraine border. EPA -
Broken windows after parts of a Russian missile, shot down by Ukrainian air defences, hit an apartment block in Kyiv. AP -
People clear debris outside a medical centre damaged by the same Russian missile after it was intercepted. AP -
A police officer looks through the window of a damaged flat in Kyiv. One person was killed and three injured when debris from a downed rocket hit an apartment in the Ukrainian capital. AFP -
Firemen working in the rubble after extensive damage in Kyiv. AFP -
Family members and comrades of Ivan Skrypny, who was killed in a rocket attack on a military base in Yavoriv, pay their last respects at his memorial service in Lviv, Ukraine. Reuters -
A man feels the despair as his home was hit by debris from a downed rocket in Kyiv. Russian troops trying to encircle the capital have launched early morning strikes on the city for several successive days. AFP -
UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed shakes hands with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during a news conference following their talks in Moscow. Reuters -
The Donetsk Regional Theatre of Drama, which was destroyed by an air strike during Russia's military onslaught in Mariupol, Ukraine. Reuters -
A satellite image of the theatre before the bombing, with the word 'children' written in Russian in large white letters on the pavement in front of and behind the building. Reuters -
A Ukrainian woman and her family in a taxi displaying the colours of the Ukrainian flag upon arriving in Madrid with a group of Spanish taxi drivers who drove to Poland to support the mass evacuation of refugees. Reuters -
A sanitised train arrives in Kielce, Poland, carrying children with oncological diseases who fled Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Reuters -
A man outside a damaged housing block after it was hit by debris from a downed rocket in Kyiv. AFP -
A residential building damaged by a blast wave at the scene where debris from a downed rocket hit a nearby apartment block in Kyiv. AFP -
Evacuees from Mariupol are seen upon arrival at the car park of a shopping centre on the outskirts of the city of Zaporizhzhia, which is now a registration centre for displaced people. AFP -
Legislators applaud Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine's president, after an address via video link at the Bundestag in Berlin. Bloomberg
