Donors urged to dig deep as Ukraine war hits Syria hard

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell says Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is making the plight of poverty-stricken Syrians far worse

BRUSSELS -- The European Union’s top diplomat warned Tuesday that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is making the plight of poverty-stricken Syrians far worse and urged donors to dig deep to help the Middle East country wracked by more than a decade of civil war.

Opening a donor event in Brussels, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said that 60% of Syria's population “suffer food insecurity, and barely know where the next meal is going to come from.”

“The Russian war will increase food and energy prices and the situation in Syria will become worse,” he said.

Borrell said the 27-nation bloc would provide an additional 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) for Syria this year, bringing the annual total to 1.5 billion euros ($1.6 billion). He said the EU would also provide 1.56 billion euros ($1.65 billion) next year.