Ukraine: 200 tons of aid arrives in Ukraine

A convoy of 11 trucks carrying 200 tons of aid from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the German Red Cross (GRC) and other partners of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement has reached Ukraine. The assistance will soon be delivered to locations around the country based on security conditions, access and where the needs of civilians fleeing from and enduring conflict are most pressing. A priority will be to deliver assistance to people displaced from their homes and living in shelters.

The trucks are transporting:

• 38 war-wounded medical kits. Each kit can help treat 50 people with serious trauma injuries.
• 1’170 relief packages that contain:
  • 3’600 blankets
  • 1’200 buckets
  • 1’200 hygiene products
  • 1’170 jerry cans
  • 1’200 kitchen sets
  • 1’200 tarpaulins
• Water and Sanitation supplies
• 5,120 body bags

Florian Seriex, Spokesperson for the ICRC in Ukraine said: “I’m currently in Ukraine in the city of Vinnytsia. I’m in a warehouse where we are currently offloading the content of eleven trucks, that’s about 200 tonnes of humanitarian assistance that just arrived in the country. This humanitarian assistance contains war-wounded kits, which means surgical, trauma kits, that will be distributed to hospitals. They contain blankets, mattresses. All the goods that are necessary for the people who have left their homes, who are currently stuck in shelters, and are in desperate need of humanitarian assistance. Of course, we are conscious that this assistance is only a drop in the ocean of all the needs that we currently observe in Ukraine. People need food, people need water, people need to be in a safe place above all. In the coming days and coming weeks, the International Committee of the Red Cross and its partners will continue this humanitarian assistance and operations.”

Whilst this aid convoy is a positive development, it is merely a drop in the ocean of the vast humanitarian needs that ICRC teams see unfolding for the people affected by the conflict in Ukraine by the day.

Note to editors:

1. The ICRC has been working for the people affected by the conflict in Ukraine since 2014. Our operations in the country are among the ten largest ICRC operations worldwide with a team of over 600 staff members. Working closely with the Ukrainian Red Cross Society, we are increasing our response to the humanitarian needs in Ukraine. Our support to people includes emergency assistance such as food, water, and other essential items. We also support hospitals and primary healthcare facilities with medical equipment and emergency preparedness. We repair water stations and support households to rehabilitate their damaged homes. We also help families separated by the conflict reconnect. 

2. Established in 1863, the ICRC operates worldwide helping people affected by conflict and armed violence and promoting the laws that protect victims of war. A neutral, independent and impartial organization, its mandate stems from the Geneva Conventions of 1949. It is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and works in more than 100 countries.

3. A first version of this AV package mentioned food aid. The 200 tons of aid includes the above items, not food, though ICRC is looking at ways to deliver dry food and other items to people in need.

For more information:

Jason Straziuso, ICRC Geneva, jstraziuso@icrc.org, Tel.: +41 79 949 35 12

Crystal Wells, ICRC Geneva, cwells@icrc.org, Tel.: +41 79 642 80 56

Chris Hanger, ICRC Geneva, changer@icrc.org, Tel: +41 77 260 26 79

 Loglist

ICRC Ref: 20220315-Ukraine-AidConvoy-AVN

Location: Hungary, Romania, Ukraine

Camera: ICRC

Date: 14-15.03.22

Duration: 03:42

00:00    ICRC and German Red Cross trucks with humanitarian aid pull out of Debrecen, Hungary as they begin the journey to Romania and then Ukraine.

00:45    Trucks arriving at the border of Romania and Ukraine.

01:57    Trucks arriving at the warehouse in Vinittsya, Ukraine on March 15

02:05    Soundbite Florian Seriex, ICRC

“I’m currently in Ukraine in the city of Vinnytsia. I’m in a warehouse where we are currently offloading the content of eleven trucks, that’s about 200 tonnes of humanitarian assistance that just arrived in the country. This humanitarian assistance contains war-wounded kits, which means surgical, trauma kits, that will be distributed to hospitals. They contain blankets, mattresses. All the goods that are necessary for the people who have left their homes, who are currently stuck in shelters, and are in desperate need of humanitarian assistance. Of course, we are conscious that this assistance is only a drop in the ocean of all the needs that we currently observe in Ukraine. People need food, people need water, people need to be in a safe place above all. In the coming days and coming weeks the International Committee of the Red Cross and its partners will continue this humanitarian assistance and operations.

03:02    Humanitarian aid being unloaded from the trucks into the warehouse in Vinnytsia.

03:42    ENDS