Assistant UN Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator Ursula Mueller has met with representatives of DPR and LPR in Donetsk and Luhansk regions and urged them to provide humanitarian access.

"In meetings with the de facto authorities in Donetsk, she called for sustained humanitarian access to all areas in eastern Ukraine," the press service of the UN in Ukraine said on Friday.

In Kyiv, Mueller met the Deputy Minister of Temporarily Occupied Territories and Internally Displaced Persons. They discussed the challenging situation facing 1.6 million displaced Ukrainians and the responsibility to provide them with services and benefits.

"The people of eastern Ukraine are paying too high a price for the political inability to achieve a definitive ceasefire," the press service quotes Mueller as saying.

Also at meetings with leaders of Donetsk and Luhansk provinces she stressed the need for increased cooperation to align humanitarian and development efforts.

In addition, Mueller, following her visit to Ukraine, called for the protection of civilians and stressed the need to fund humanitarian assistance for people in eastern Ukraine in the winter.

"She stressed the urgent need for humanitarian funding to address the dire situation faced by millions of civilians during the coming winter months," the press service said.