Caritas Ukraine mobilises resources as Russian invasion begins

By Lydia O’Kane

What many had feared came to pass on Thursday, as Russia invaded Ukraine in an attack by land, sea, and air.

As air raid sirens sounded in Kyiv, there were fears that this escalation will lead to a humanitarian and social catastrophe.

Caritas Ukraine is now in the eye of the storm mobilizing resources to help those in need.

The task is a mammoth one in a country that has already seen eight years of conflict following the 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea from Ukraine and an ongoing Russian-backed insurgency in the east of Ukraine.

Added to that are the COVID-19 pandemic and the deteriorating economic situation in the country that has led to an increase in poverty.

Planning ahead

Caritas Ukraine began preparations for a possible escalation in the conflict last summer.

Over the last two months, these preparations, which include the training of personnel, have intensified.

On Thursday morning Caritas Ukraine had several meetings with its teams from across Ukraine in order to plan for the road ahead.

Mobilising resources

“We are gathering our resources to respond to the potential humanitarian crisis,” said Communications Director, Vladyslav Shelokov, speaking to Vatican News.

“We are working closely with our partner organisations from all Caritas networks to collect enough resources to cover all needs which soon will be even more increased.”

He noted that at present, what is needed the most are food parcels, drinking water, hygiene kits, and shelter “because you probably know on the east part of Ukraine now there is a really hard fight and the Russian troops are trying to attack.”

Internally displaced people

He went on to say that people are leaving from the eastern part of Ukraine and heading to centre of the country.

“I cannot say it’s now a huge amount of people, I cannot say, I do not have any numbers, but I can predict that some of the people that lived near the contact line on the east of Ukraine, they would prefer to move to the centre part of Ukraine and maybe the more western part of Ukraine,” he said.

Safety amid conflict

Asked about the safety of personnel as parts of the country are hit by shelling, Mr Shelokov stressed that “in the cities where we don’t have any security guarantees for our personnel, we don’t operate any activities.” He added that the information he received on Thursday morning confirmed that all Caritas staff were safe and well.

Ukrainian people united

Despite the current situation, the Communication Director emphasized that people in Ukraine are united.

“They are calm, and they know what to do, and there is no panic on the streets.”