Today, in the Lviv region there are no European humanitarian organizations working to care for the people; volunteers, entrepreneurs and the Lviv regional military administration are taking care of everything, said Maksym Kozytskyy, the head of the regional military administration.
Kozytskyy shared this information during the meeting with the European Environment, Oceans and Fisheries Commissioner, Virginijus Sinkevičius, and acting Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine, Ruslan Strilets.
“Where are the organizations such as the Red Cross, the UN, the OSCE, the Council of Europe? I do not see any organization which would usually be present, either in zones at the heart of the conflict or here, away from the front lines. Where are the European and international organizations which help refugees and ensure the work of humanitarian convoys? European humanitarian organizations, unfortunately, are still not operating systematically in the Lviv region,” Kozytskyy noted.
At the same time, he noted that Ukrainians themselves are providing humanitarian aid to their fellow citizens in the region. They accommodated 400,000 displaced persons in Lviv and the region. Almost a million people have crossed the border with Poland through the Lviv region since the beginning of the war.
Lviv authorities have set up 80 tents for heating and the same number of food distribution points near the State Emergency Service. Each day the Lviv regional military administration, local entrepreneurs and volunteers prepare 25,000 servings of breakfast and lunch.
“The Lviv region has become a humanitarian hub between Europe and the regions of Ukraine with active combat: we transport, compile and transfer tons of aid to other regions. And we will continue to do everything in our power to help,” Kozytskyy promised.
According to him, “a good example of support and cooperation is the international humanitarian organization “Samaritan’s Purse” which, the day before, set up a hospital to treat internally displaced persons and soldiers.”
However, there is a lack of active and systemic help from international institutions, the head of the regional military administration stated.
“The European Commissioner has promised to discuss it with the President of the Red Cross and to work out the possibility of intensifying the assistance from other international missions in Ukraine and the Lviv region,” Kozytskyy noted following the meeting.
“The Lviv region has become a humanitarian hub between Europe and the regions of Ukraine with active combat: we transport, compile and transfer tons of aid to other regions. And we will continue to do everything in our power to help,” Kozytskyy promised.
According to him, “a good example of support and cooperation is the international humanitarian organization “Samaritan’s Purse” which, the day before, set up a hospital to treat internally displaced persons and soldiers.”
However, there is a lack of active and systemic help from international institutions, the head of the regional military administration stated.
“The European Commissioner has promised to discuss it with the President of the Red Cross and to work out the possibility of intensifying the assistance from other international missions in Ukraine and the Lviv region,” Kozytskyy noted following the meeting.