Filenews 18 March 2022 - by Ioanna Mantzipa
The first package of humanitarian aid sent by Cyprus to the people of Ukraine departs this afternoon from the port of Limassol. This morning, the Minister of Transport, Yiannis Karousos, the Commissioner of the Citizen, Panagiotis Sentonas, as well as the representative of the Civil Defence and the President of the Cyprus Ports Authority, were found at the port area and specifically outside the ship where the loading of the 14 large containers with the assistance material will take place.
In his statements, the Minister of Transport, Yiannis Karousos, mentioned that Cyprus is participating in the humanitarian aid mission to Ukraine and this afternoon 14 containers will depart from the Port of Limassol to Ukraine. He noted that this is an initiative that began on the instructions of the President of the Republic and was coordinated by the Commissioner of the Citizen.
Mr. Karousos also noted that the containers contain medical supplies, food and clothing. All material was received by the Ports Authority, which undertook to pack it and send it.
The coordination for the collection and transfer of the material was done by the Commissioner of the Citizen, the Civil Defence and with the help of the Ports Authority and the National Guard.
Asked about the route of the cargo, the minister said that it will be to Thessaloniki and then through the European Civil Protection Mechanism the appropriate arrangements will be made to channel it to Ukraine.
For his part, the Commissioner for Citizen, Panagiotis Sentonas, said that this is the first shipment of assistance, which includes medical equipment, civil protection material and food, which was offered by Cypriot citizens, thus showing their solidarity with the Ukrainian people. He also stressed that the whole effort to collect the material and the special account, which was created on the instructions of President Anastasiades, remain in operation.
The collection of all this large volume, which had been gathered in the 40 collection centres around Pancyprian, was carried out by the NG following the instructions of the Chief of the National Guard. He also thanked the Red Cross, which sends personal hygiene kits for children and adults, and thanked the company Medochemi, which delivered to the Ukrainian authorities medical equipment worth half a million euros.
We continue the whole effort and Cyprus through the European Civil Protection Mechanism is part of this pan-European effort to provide humanitarian assistance to the Ukrainian people, he added. "The whole collection campaign continues, while Cyprus stands ready to continue to offer assistance to the Ukrainian people."
