GENEVA — A planeload of medical supplies for COVID-19 patients and other relief goods has arrived in Ukraine to help people enduring a six-year-old conflict in the country's east, the International Committee of the Red Cross said on Thursday. Eastern Ukraine, where Russian-backed separatists emerged in 2014, reported its first coronavirus infection on Tuesday and the ICRC said several more cases had been confirmed there since. Tension between the rebels and Ukrainian forces remains high and fighting flared in February despite peace talks in December. The 14 metric tonnes of supplies will go to hospitals and detention centres and serve both sides of the front line in the region, known as the Donbass, where the situation could become "disastrous" given the state of the health system, the ICRC said.

Source: International New York Times April 02, 2020 12:11 UTC