LESS than a third of British humanitarian aid pledged to Ukraine has reached the country so far, prompting criticism of ministers’ slow progress to deliver the much-needed funds. 

International development committee chairwoman Sarah Champion said she was “shocked and disappointed” after Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said that the government had delivered just £58.1 million of aid out of the £220m promised.  

The figure was disclosed by Ms Truss in a letter to Ms Champion, published today, in response to her ongoing concerns about the progress of aid delivery to Ukraine. 

It follows a similar call by the chairwoman in early March in which she urged PM Boris Johnson to ensure that Britain’s pledges for Ukraine were disbursed quickly. The Labour MP said it was “shameful” that she had to repeat the urgent call. 

“More than 12 million people in Ukraine are in need of humanitarian support, as well as four million people who have fled the country,” she said. “These people need our help now — not at some vague future date.”

The letter, dated April 1, reveals that £48.5m of British aid has been delivered to multilateral partners including the United Nations, while £9.6m was due to be spent by the end of March on assistance including medical supplies, food aid and shelter. 

“We are scaling up at speed whilst ensuring that risks are managed appropriately and aid is targeted effectively,” Ms Truss said in the letter. “We are on track to disburse up to £60m by the end of March.”

The £220m in humanitarian funding is part of a wider £394m package of support for Ukraine promised by the British government.

The letter also revealed that this funding will come out of Britain’s overall aid budget, which the Tories slashed last year from 0.7 per cent of national income to 0.5 per cent. 

Ms Champion said she was extremely disappointed by this, adding: “Given these circumstances, the government should be less rigid in sticking to the 0.5 per cent target for aid spending. 

“This would allow the UK to respond to the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine without taking resources away from communities suffering from other conflicts, or extreme poverty, around the world.”

Stop the War coalition convener Lindsay German warned that sending more arms would prolong the fighting at the cost of many Ukrainian civilians.

“Boris Johnson and Joe Biden are willing to do this because they see the chance to weaken Russia. But they do not care about the ordinary people of Ukraine, Russia or their own countries. If they did, they would demand to stop this war not escalate it.”