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Crisis Brief: Unexpected aid in eastern Ukraine

Ivan Kubarev, 61, shows the destroyed home of his elderly relatives in Triokhizbenka, who are now sheltering with him and his wife nearby. Brendan Hoffman/ Mercy Corps
Ivan Kubarev, 61, shows the destroyed home of his elderly relatives in Triokhizbenka, who are now sheltering with him and his wife nearby.
As our special report outlined in May, civilians in rebel-held eastern Ukraine are cut off from government-controlled territory and have highly restricted access to goods, basic services and cash. 

This new IRIN/HPG Crisis Brief finds that the limited aid that does reach those in need often comes from unusual sources. A Ukrainian oligarch with an anti-separatist past is helping to keep hundreds of thousands of people in rebel-held areas alive, while aid from across the Russian border is supporting soup kitchens, hospitals and schools. This assistance may be highly politicised, but what are the alternatives and are traditional aid delivery mechanisms lagging behind?

Read: The IRIN/HPG Crisis Brief to find out more

Produced jointly by IRIN and the Overseas Development Institute’s Humanitarian Policy Group (HPG), Crisis Briefs combine field reporting with research to address critical issues in the world’s most urgent crises. Our pilot briefing – about aid in areas of Iraq controlled by self-declared Islamic State – can be found here.
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