Austria has announced an additional €10 million in humanitarian aid for Ukraine and Moldova, amid the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war. This latest contribution brings Austria’s total state assistance to more than €250 million since the invasion began.
Austria itself has not supplied weapons or military equipment to Ukraine due to its policy of neutrality, though it has not blocked other nations from doing so through mechanisms like the EU’s European Peace Facility, and sends humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
“Austria is firmly on the side of the Ukrainian people and has been providing extensive humanitarian aid since day one. This is now being increased by a further ten million euros from the Foreign Ministry’s Foreign Disaster Fund (AKF). This means that Austria’s state aid now amounts to more than 250 million euros,” the Austrian Foreign Ministry reported.
The €10 million allocation will be distributed as follows: €6 million will go to the “Neighbor in Need” initiative, providing emergency relief such as drinking water, food, and temporary shelter. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) will each receive €2 million.
Vice Chancellor Werner Kogler emphasized Austria’s unwavering stance against Russia’s illegal aggression.
“Putin’s brutal, unlawful war of aggression aims to demoralize the Ukrainian population, destroy Ukraine and vital infrastructure, and divide the European community of states. We will not tolerate this,” Kogler declared.
The Austrian Foreign Ministry doesn’t provide specific details on how the aid money allocated for Moldova will be used, but notes that “Moldova having taken in the most displaced people in relation to its population size of more than 130,000 people, placing the country before enormous logistical and financial challenges,” with a total of “almost 6,000,000” Ukrainian refugees abroad.
According to the UN, over 14 million people in Ukraine, including over 3 million children, are in dire need of humanitarian assistance for survival.
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