United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday called for a four-day Orthodox Easter humanitarian pause in fighting in Ukraine to allow for the safe passage of civilians to leave areas of conflict and the delivery of humanitarian aid to hard-hit areas.

Guterres said the United Nations was submitting detailed plans to the parties and was ready to send humanitarian aid convoys to Mariupol, Kherson, Donetsk and Luhansk beginning on Holy Thursday and running through Sunday, the date of Orthodox Easter, which is celebrated by most Ukrainians and Russians.

"Humanitarian needs are dire. People do not have food, water, supplies to treat the sick or wounded or simply to live day-to-day," Guterres told reporters at the United Nations in New York.

Humanitarian ceasefires between Ukrainian and Russian forces in Ukraine are not on the horizon right now, but may be possible in a couple of weeks, according to the UN aid chief, Martin Griffiths. 

Griffiths also said UN aid officials are planning to dispatch a humanitarian convoy in the next couple of days into the eastern Donetsk region and from there aid supplies would go to Luhansk region.

(With input from Reuters)