The Ukrainian Red Cross has received the highest award of the Japanese Red Cross for its selfless work during the full-scale aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine.
“The Ukrainian Red Cross has received the highest award of the Japanese Red Cross for the selfless work of volunteers and staff during the full-scale war in Ukraine,” the Ukrainian Red Cross reported on Facebook on Sunday.
The award was presented to Ukrainian Red Cross Director General Maksym Dotsenko during a meeting with Japanese Red Cross President Atsushi Seike in Tokyo.
Later, the Ukrainian Red Cross leaders took part in an open meeting dedicated to the humanitarian situation in Ukraine and the problems and challenges faced by Ukrainians. The participants learned about the ways the Ukrainian Red Cross is helping to overcome the humanitarian crisis in the country and the long-term perspective of supporting Ukraine.
The open seminar was attended by more than 200 people, including Japanese Red Cross staff, representatives of the public sector, government and state agencies of Japan.
“In the short term, we are preparing for winter. It is going to be difficult. Today, Ukraine’s energy system is suffering significant damage due to constant missile attacks. Ukrainians are already suffering from power cuts. In winter, the load on the energy system will increase, as the population will need to be supplied with heat in addition to electricity. In the long term, our work will be focused on the mental and physical rehabilitation of civilians and veterans,” said Dotsenko at the briefing.
According to Ilya Kletskovskiy, Deputy Director General of the Ukrainian Red Cross, the main task now is “not to let the world forget about the ongoing war in Ukraine and to help as many Ukrainians as possible.”
More than a thousand families have received monetary assistance from the Ukrainian Red Cross for rehabilitation.
“1,196 families from Kiev and Mykolaiv have received monetary assistance from the Ukrainian Red Cross for the rehabilitation of children and adults totaling more than 35 million hryvnias,” the Ukrainian Red Cross said on Facebook on Thursday.
The Ukrainian Red Cross provided cash assistance to patients undergoing rehabilitation at the National Children’s Specialized Hospital of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine “Okhmatdet” in Kiev and several rehabilitation centers in Mykolaiv under the Cash for Rehabilitation program supported by the British Red Cross. Each patient under the program received 30 thousand hryvnias.
“This amount was determined based on the results of a preliminary survey among families whose children or relatives are undergoing or need physical rehabilitation in medical institutions of the country, in particular, in the Okhmatdet hospital in Kiev and institutions in Mykolaiv,” said Elena Skrypnikova, head of the Innovative Financing Department of the Ukrainian Red Cross.
According to her, the categories of injuries and illnesses for which monetary assistance is provided have also been defined: rehabilitation after wounds received as a result of hostilities or the action of explosive objects; rehabilitation services due to congenital diseases; rehabilitation due to chronic diseases, in particular, oncological, cardiovascular and others.
The majority of children and adults who received cash assistance already have disability status or are in the process of obtaining it. In addition, families surveyed indicated a need for auxiliary aids such as wheelchairs, walkers, hand or foot orthoses.
The Red Cross Society of Ukraine (RCSU) and the Austrian Red Cross have opened a renovated shelter in the village of Lopushna in Lviv region.
“In order for the shelter to become habitable for persons who have lost their housing, the heating system, utilities, ceiling, floor and roof overhaul were repaired. The temporary housing is fully provided with beds, household appliances and hygiene kits,” OKCU said on Facebook on Saturday.
The shelter can accommodate about 40 people. Currently, the first residents are already moving into the renovated building.
The budget of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) for the provision of humanitarian assistance in Ukraine has been increased to 250 million Swiss francs, the organization’s president, Peter Maurer, said.
“Some 75 million Swiss francs until February 24 (Russian invasion of Ukraine) per year was the approximate budget of the International Committee of the Red Cross for Ukraine. We asked our donors for 150 million Swiss francs. As a result, now our budget for Ukraine is 250 million Swiss francs. Then there are donors who are very generous in everything related to the situation in Ukraine, and this will allow us to expand our activities,” Maurer said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine and the Ukraine 24 TV Channel.
According to him, the ICRC’s humanitarian operation in Ukraine is the largest in the world in recent decades.
“Just for comparison: before the escalation in Ukraine, the largest Red Cross operations were carried out in Afghanistan, Syria. That is, with a budget of 180-190 million. Now Ukraine is our largest operation in the world,” he said.
Maurer also noted that the ICRC has already delivered 200 tonnes of humanitarian aid to Ukraine and is ready to start distributing it.
Among other types of support, he named the intention of the organization to locally purchase goods and receive services, to support the economy. The president of the humanitarian organization also said that he had agreed with Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal on the implementation of a cash support scheme for the country, similar to the one during the COVID-19 crisis.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has said that, according to International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) President Peter Maurer, the ICRC will return its representative to Kyiv.
“Had a telephone conversation with the President of the ICRC Peter Maurer. Received positive signal! The Red Cross representatives are returning to Kyiv. Our top priority now is to deliver humanitarian aid to the surrounded cities and evacuate people urgently,” Shmyhal said on Twitter.
The Ukrainian Red Cross Society has no right to independently organize humanitarian corridors for the removal of civilians, its press service told Interfax-Ukraine on Monday. “The Red Cross Society of Ukraine does not have an independent right to organize ‘green corridors’, but it helps local and state authorities in coordinating the evacuation of civilians,” Director General of the National Committee of the Red Cross Society of Ukraine Maksym Dotsenko, whose words are quoted in a press release, said.
He said that in some cases, the Red Cross Society of Ukraine helps local and state authorities in coordinating the evacuation of civilians, while the International Committee of the Red Cross, with the potential and appropriate contacts with all parties to the conflict, organizes “green corridors” for evacuation.
“The International Committee of the Red Cross is ready to fulfill its role of a neutral intermediary and provide support within its capabilities,” the statement said.
“The Red Cross Society of Ukraine, as an absolutely neutral humanitarian organization, also notes the need for a bilateral agreement between the parties to the armed conflict for the provision of humanitarian assistance and the removal of the civilian population through ‘green corridors “, the organization said.
