US President Joe Biden, who landed in Poland on Friday, expressed his disappointment at being unable to see the worsening humanitarian crisis in Ukraine firsthand.

Speaking after his arrival, President Biden said, “I’m here in Poland to see firsthand the humanitarian crisis and, quite frankly, part of my disappointment is that I can’t see it firsthand like I have in other places. They will not let me.”

“Understandably, I’m guessing, cross the border and take a look at what’s going on in Ukraine, but I’m eager to hear from you in the humanitarian community about what you see, what you’re doing and where you think we go from here,” the 79-year-old added.

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President Biden also went on to praise the efforts of Ukrainian refugees as well as efforts taken by humanitarian organisations for on-ground relief, saying, “The suffering that’s taking place now is at your doorstep. You are the ones risking, in some cases your lives … and the American people are proud to support your efforts.”

The US President’s comments came hours after UNICEF released a report highlighting the plight of Ukrainians in general, and children in particular.

UNICEF said that an estimated 4.3 million kids, out of Ukraine’s 7.5 million child population, had been displaced by Russia’s war: while 1.8 million children had fled the country and taken refuge in neighbouring nations, 2.5 million children had been internally displaced.

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The UNICEF report went on to highlight the hellish conditions in Ukraine’s besieged cities, and said that as many as 1.4 million people in Ukraine did not have access to safe water, while another 4.6 million had very limited access which they were at the risk of losing altogether.

Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, more than 6.5 million people have been displaced in eastern European country, while more than 3.6 million have fled, making the humanitarian crisis one of “enormous consequence” in President Biden’s words.

Given the worsening situation, the US on Thursday pledged $1 billion in humanitarian assistance to Ukraine to “provide food, shelter, clean water, medical supplies and other forms of assistance.”