£62 million was raised in a single week

The charity aid appeal for Ukraine has entered the world record books.

To date more than £300 million has been raised by the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) fundraiser, which was launched following the Russian invasion.

The almost £62m that was raised in a single week from 3 March has been confirmed by Guinness World Records as the highest amount given to an online campaign in a single week.

This does not include the £25m worth of match-funding from the UK government or other cash from large corporations.

The DEC is a collaboration of 15 international aid charities, including Save The Children, British Red Cross and Christian Aid.

Simon Beresford, director of fundraising and marketing at the DEC, said: “We have been overwhelmed by the incredible generosity and outpouring of support from the UK public to the people of Ukraine.

“It has been heart-warming to see the inspiring fundraising efforts which are ongoing, with donations flooding in from individuals, companies, schools and arts organisations across the UK.

“We are of course proud and delighted to have taken a part in setting a new world record. However, most importantly, what this means is that with the help of the generous UK public DEC charities and their local partners can scale up to respond to help the people of Ukraine.

“They are working to meet both the immediate and long-term needs of people affected for the months and years to come.”

Funds raised will be spent over a period of three years, with any of the DEC charities spending funds straight away.

It is estimated that £74.5m will be spent until the end of August, with 55% of this spent in Ukraine, with the rest being distributed across Poland, Romania, Moldova and Hungary, which have all received large numbers of people fleeing the war.

So far the Ukraine appeal is the second-biggest in the DEC’s history, behind the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami Appeal, which raised £392m.