KIEV, March 15 (Xinhua) -- Civilians in the conflict-hit eastern Ukraine received humanitarian aid in the form of construction materials from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), authorities said Thursday.
The ICRC has delivered over 155 tons of building products with eight trucks to people residing in the non-government-controlled areas in Donetsk region, Ukraine's State Border Service said in a statement.
The supplies are aimed at helping civilians to restore their houses and other essential infrastructure that were damaged during the armed conflicts, which have been underway in the region since April 2014.
Last year, more than 40,000 people living on both sides of the contact line, which distinguishes government-controlled areas from non-government-controlled areas, benefited from the ICRC donations for restoring their houses.
In addition to construction materials for residential buildings, the aid has also helped to repair a total of 59 schools and kindergartens as well as 33 health care institutions in the conflict-stricken region.
The almost four-year-old conflict between government troops and pro-independence rebels claimed the lives of more than 10,000 people and left thousands of houses and infrastructure facilities destroyed or damaged.
