Aid for Ukraine now tops €2 million

The second batch of humanitarian aid from Cyprus for Ukraine was dispatched on Tuesday with both of them having a combined value of over €2 million, Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides said on Wednesday.

Following the first one, which was sent on March 8, the second batch consisted of around 70 tonnes of medicines, food, personal hygiene items and protective equipment.

“The two batches collected in Cyprus have a combined value of over €2 million, a record in Cyprus as far as humanitarian aid is concerned,” Kasoulides said.

“It only goes to prove that Cyprus and its people are standing beside Ukraine in their plight after Russia’s invasion.”

He said the humanitarian aid is set to arrive in Romania with the help of the EU in the coming days, where it will be distributed among Ukrainian refugees fleeing the war.

The foreign minister also thanked the Civil Defence, the National Guard, the Ports Authority and the health ministry for their coordinated efforts to collect the aid.

“We stand by the Ukrainian people and we are ready to continue to support them with concrete actions,” Kasoulides said.

Citizens’ Commissioner Panayiotis Senontas said the collection of the humanitarian aid was only made possible thanks to the coordination among various state departments and to the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, an initiative of the European Commission to constitute a framework for cooperation in disaster preparedness, prevention and response.

“The EU Civil Protection Mechanism played a key role in informing member states about the needs of the Ukrainian people after the invasion,” Senontas said.

“We will continue to monitor their needs and we will be ready to send more humanitarian aid in the coming weeks.”

Sentonas said that so far around €150,000 has been collected in Cyprus after the government opened a bank account specifically to donate money to Ukrainians.