Shipments of Polish aid, tailored to the most pressing needs of the local residents, are arriving in Kherson even as Russian forces shell flood-hit areas, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
Polish assistance, including from Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki’s Office, is being delivered by Dominican fathers and volunteers from the St Martin de Porres Centre in the central Ukrainian city of Fastiv, according to PAP.
Polish ambassador visits Kherson
Poland’s ambassador to Ukraine, Bartosz Cichocki, visited Kherson with the latest shipment of Polish aid, the PAP news agency reported.
Cichocki told reporters on Wednesday: “The situation in Kherson is changing by the hour. The needs here are different from one day to the next. This Russian crime, the blowing up of the Kakhovka dam, is affecting everyone in Ukraine.”
He added: “I came here to see what else is needed.”
A recent convoy, made up of aid vans from Fastiv and cars carrying Polish diplomats and journalists, drove to Kherson City past the ruins of shelled villages, down a road lined with red-painted anti-mine warning signs, the PAP news agency reported.
As the motorcade approached the city, the sound of explosions grew louder, indicating another Russian attack, of which there are about a dozen a day, according to PAP.
At a military bridge leading to Kherson City, members of the convoy had to put on bulletproof vests and helmets, officials said.
After arriving in the flood-hit provincial capital, Dominican friars and volunteers unloaded their aid vans, amid the sound of cannon fire, the Polish state news agency reported.
Support from Poland
Fr. Michał Romaniw, the founder of the St Martin de Porres Centre, told PAP that the facility was receiving humanitarian assistance mainly from Poland.
He said: “Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki’s Office has never refused our request. Whenever we send an email, we immediately receive a reply, confirming that aid will arrive.”
Meanwhile, Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the Kherson Regional Military Administration, told PAP: “We are getting a lot of assistance from Poland. Not only Kherson City, but all of Ukraine. Our nations have become very close to each other.”
There were no signs of flooding in Kherson City centre on Wednesday, but in the riverside districts, there were flooded houses and mud on the streets, the PAP news agency reported.
It said stray dogs were wandering around the neighbourhood near the municipal port on the Dnipro, and the streets were littered with dinghies and boats used to evacuate flood victims.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, launching the largest military campaign in Europe since World War II.
Wednesday is day 476 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, polskieradio24.pl
