Family News Service / Karol Darmoros
Attack on Aid
Bernadette Castel-Hollingsworth, UNHCR representative in Ukraine, reported that a warehouse in Dnipro was hit by a ballistic missile and caught fire. At least two civilians were killed and many others were injured.
Preliminary estimates indicated that about 900 pallets of aid, including blankets and hygiene kits, worth over a million dollars, were destroyed. The materials were intended for evacuees, people in collective accommodation centers and transit points, and those whose homes had been damaged.
“It is absolutely appalling that once again humanitarian workplaces and aid items are being destroyed in these relentless airstrikes, just as we repeatedly see humanitarian workers attacked as they carry out their work and deliver aid to those most in need,” said Castel-Hollingsworth.
Catholic Solidarity
Catholic organizations also continue to support Ukraine. As OSV News reported in early May, the Knights of Columbus have so far raised over $24 million from more than 68,000 donors. As Szymon Czyszek, Director of International Development for the Knights of Columbus in Europe, emphasizes, the organization’s mission remains to care for the most vulnerable. This fulfills the legacy of the founder of the Knights of Columbus, Blessed Father Michael McGivney. “There are still people willing to donate because they see the work that the Knights and the Catholic Church are doing in Ukraine,” Czyszek said. The organization has reached over 2 million Ukrainians with aid, delivered over 4,500 tons of supplies, prepared over 350,000 aid packages, and distributed over 60,000 rosaries.
From Poland to the East
Another transport was also prepared by the Polish “Thank You for Freedom” Foundation. Its head, Adam Zawadzki, reminds that the current aid refers to earlier initiatives, including “First Aid Kits for Georgia” from 2008, organized by the Association of Polish Artists under the patronage of the Chancellery of Lech Kaczyński.
After the outbreak of the war, the foundation began activities for Ukraine, which have been ongoing for four years. The last collection took place in mid-May at the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary parish in Mińsk Mazowiecki. The collected funds are allocated to first aid kits and medical equipment.
Symbolic Collection
Zawadzki emphasizes that the collection itself also has a psychological dimension. Over four years, approximately PLN 40,000 has been raised. In the last collection at the Mińsk parish, approximately PLN 6,000 was collected.
The current transport includes, among other things, two pallets of Humana powdered milk, three pallets of soups, laptops, Starlink, 13 medical backpacks, dog food, stretch film, coffee, and baked goods. The Foundation also bought a car, which is to be used in aid operations. The Polish organization is supported on site by the Auto Angel Lviv initiative.
