Austria’s Caritas urges for continued support to Ukraine

This was reported by APA, Ukrinform saw.

"Right now, in winter, the needs of people, especially the elderly and children, are particularly urgent," said Klaus Schwertner, the chief of Caritas Vienna, after a seven-day visit to Ukraine.

During the trip, the Caritas team visited Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Irpin, and Bucha. "Ukraine is attacked by drones and missiles every day. We should not deceive ourselves: although Ukraine has largely disappeared from newspaper headlines recently, the war here continues with the same brutality," Schwertner noted.

He added that the issue of aid to Ukraine is "not a sprint, but a marathon." "Perhaps this will be the longest marathon that Austria and Europe have had to run since World War 2. But we can see it: our aid is working and it means a lot to many men, women, and above all to 5 million children - especially now, at Christmas," added the chief of Vienna's Caritas.

Since the outset of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, thanks to the help of the Austrians, Caritas has delivered about 500 tons of aid to Ukraine, "a quarter of a million people in Ukraine have also received support in the form of food kits, hygiene products, and drinking water."

The chief of Caritas Vienna appealed to those responsible in the federal government of Austria not to stop humanitarian aid to Ukraine in the coming year and to ensure appropriate funding. "The aid must continue to flow because the need for it is growing as the war rages on. We are asking for this aid at a time that is also difficult for people in Austria. But the experience of the past few months gives me confidence that many Austrians are willing to join us, to make possible a small Christmas miracle for our neighbors in Ukraine," Schwertner said.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, EUR 56 million has been raised within the Neighbor in Trouble charity campaign in Austria since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Photo: caritas.ua