At 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday, 10 January, ten Riga Traffic Authority’s buses began their journey from Riga to Ukraine. The Buses were donated to the city of Kyiv in December by Riga City Council. Responding to the call from the municipality and Ziedot.lv Foundation to fill the buses with donations for the people of Kyiv, residents of Riga donated about 50 tonnes of humanitarian aid over three days from 28 to 30 December.
The buses donated by the city of Riga will be delivered to the Ukrainian and Polish border by Riga Traffic Authority’s volunteer drivers.
From 28 to 30 December, people of Riga had the opportunity to leave their donations for the civilians of Kyiv at several locations in Riga. Among the items donated are a variety of food products, hygiene products, baby care products, as well as pet food and medical supplies.
This time, due to the cold weather and Russia’s targeted attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, people also donated warm clothes, blankets, sleeping bags, heaters and even electricity generators. The volume of the goods is around 50 tonnes, with the total monetary value of the humanitarian donations being approximately 200,000 euros.
Edvards Ratnieks, Deputy Mayor of Riga: “Deputy Mayor of Riga, Edvards Ratnieks pointed out: “Riga will continue to support Ukraine for as long as necessary. Unfortunately, the war in Ukraine is not over yet. This is the second time we are sending Riga Traffic Authority’s buses to Kyiv, filled with items donated by the people of Riga. The warm response, generosity and emotions of our people during the New Year’s donation campaign showed that, for us, the war in Ukraine is not just some background noise, and that it is important to help the Ukrainian people in their struggle for an independent state. We wish a safe journey to this important shipment to Kyiv, filled with wishes of strength and endurance by the people of Riga!”
At the end of April 2022, the city of Riga sent the first 11 buses to Kyiv, filled with 50 tonnes of humanitarian aid donated by the people of Riga within three days.
Information prepared by: Edīte Matuseviča, Project Coordinator, External Communications Department of the Riga City Council’s Communications Board, e-mail: edite.matusevica@riga.lv
