UNITED NATIONS – According to his spokesman, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres opposes discrimination against some foreign nationals attempting to flee the war in Ukraine.

On Tuesday, Guterres' spokesman Stephane Dujarric said, "The Secretary General strongly repudiates, in any shape or form, all discrimination based on race, religion, ethnicity, in the context of this conflict, as well as in terms of the treatment of people trying to flee Ukraine to seek refuge in another country." The harsh statement came in response to accusations that some foreign nationals, such as students and workers from Africa and Asia, were denied accommodation on flights out of Ukraine.

Martin Griffiths, the UN-Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Support Coordinator, announced in Geneva that donors had committed $1.5 billion toward the USD 1.7 billion needed in relief for victims of Ukraine's conflict.

Despite the violence, UN personnel are still on the ground distributing humanitarian aid, according to the spokesman.In a daily briefing with reporters, he said the number of personnel in Ukraine remained roughly the same as last week, around 1,500, with some staff moving in and out of Ukraine. The world body's lines of communication with its employees are still open,  Dujarric said.

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