Eight lorries of aid consisting of medicines, medical equipment and long shelf-life food have left Budapest on Tuesday morning; the aid is to be delivered to the Transcarpathian region and beyond the Carpathians.

The aid worth around HUF 100 million (EUR 323,000) collected by NGOs, charities, churches, municipalities and the Government was officially sent off by Minister of State for Churches, National Minorities and Civil Affairs Miklós Soltész from the M3 Logistics Centre near Budapest.

At a press conference held before the convoy’s departure Mr. Soltész said that the Ministry of Human Capacities launched the request for aid a few months ago, to which five organizations responded within a single day, while three others joined in later on.

He said that the 126 tonnes of aid left at a symbolic time, just after Orthodox Easter Monday. Mr. Soltész explained that four of the eight lorries transport food to the Transcarpathian region, while the other four will deliver food and medical equipment beyond the Carpathians.

Mr. Soltész emphasised that the speed at which the first five organizations - the Hungarian Charity Service of the Order of Malta, the Caritas Hungarica, the Hungarian Red Cross, the Hungarian Reformed Church Aid and the Hungarian Baptist Aid – responded to the request was exemplary. He also added that these were shortly joined by the Unified Jewish Congregation of Hungary, the Saint Lukas Greek-Catholic Aid and the Johannite Aid Service, while the chargé d’affairs of the Ukraine in Budapest has also helped with the organizational work.

Mr. Soltész said that the aid – which took long to organize due to bureaucracy and paperwork – was primarily for families suffering as a result of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. He explained that in Transcarpathia, the aid will be distributed by the Reformed Church Aid, while beyond the Carpathians, this work will be done by Ukrainian aid services that will deliver some of the aid to hospitals.

The Minister of State thanked the contributing organizations and the delivery company Nyírtransz for their efforts, saying that such joint action showed the real strength of Hungarian individuals and enterprises. The aid is expected to reach the Transcarpathian region on Tuesday evening and another day and a half later, the regions beyond the Carpathians.

(Ministry of Human Capacities)