Romania stands with Ukraine and provides assistance to all those who fled the war
Romania will take care of all the Ukrainian nationals who reach its territory, president Klaus Iohannis promised his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, in a telephone conversation in which he also reiterated Romania’s full support for Ukraine’s EU accession.
During the almost 3 weeks since Russia started the war in Ukraine, over 400,000 Ukrainian citizens entered Romania, and nearly one-fifth of them stayed here.
Both the authorities and civil society have been quick to provide assistance, ever since the first wave of refugees: people fleeing the war at home received everything from free hot meals and accommodation to free transport and necessity goods, donations (including a charity concert that raised over EUR 750,000), job opportunities as well as healthcare or classes for the children who stayed in Romania.
An EU-coordinated humanitarian hub set up in Suceava, in northern Romania, near the Ukrainian border, started operating last week and relief is already being delivered. The hub is critical in facilitating the transfer of donations raised in EU member states and from other countries and organisations.
Assistance was also provided by Romania to those who are only transiting the country, which includes not only Ukrainian nationals but also third-country citizens who were in Ukraine when the war broke out.
Among these were over 3,000 Israeli citizens and over 1,200 Jewish Ukrainians. Romania helped them enter the country and leave for Israel, the Romanian foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu announced after a meeting in Bucharest with his Israeli counterpart Yair Lapid. „Jewish children from Odesa, children with cancer, were sent to Israel for treatment, and thousands of refugees fled via the Siret checkpoint. Their lives were saved thanks to the cooperation between our countries. Thank you, and thanks to the government of Romania, for cooperation and assistance,” said Yair Lapid, who also visited the Siret checkpoint on Sunday.
On the other hand, the World Health Organisation expressed concerns that the war in Ukraine may cause a spike in COVID-19 cases. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control also issued an alert for the countries hosting refugees from Ukraine, warning of high rates of anti-microbial resistance in Ukraine, and also of polio and measles outbreaks that prompted a state of biological emergency being declared in October. This is why the EU institution recommends patient isolation in hospitals so as to prevent infectious diseases from spreading. (Corina Cristea, Radio Romania International)
RADOR – 14 martie
