The Luxembourg Red Cross has been active in Ukraine for the past 30 years. Since the beginning of the Russian invasion in 2022, the humanitarian organisation has extended its activities and currently has a team of 15 people working on the ground with their colleagues from the Ukrainian Red Cross. Focus is put on supporting the healthcare system, relocating displaced people, and rebuilding critical infrastructure.
The Luxembourg Red Cross is currently worried about how the winter might further complicate the situation in Ukraine, as temperatures in the country can reach as low as -20°C. Overall, people’s needs have significantly changed since February last year, with electricity regularly disrupted by missile strikes and thereby making it more difficult for people to heat their homes. The Red Cross has therefore started to provide people with coal-powered heaters.
The humanitarian organisation also plans on continuing to repurpose public buildings so that Ukrainian citizens can use them to warm themselves up.
In conversation with RTL, project leader Myriam Jacoby elaborated: “We already renovated a hospital in Irpin and actually designated an entire area where people can warm themselves up. They can also sleep there at night. The problem is that they cannot do it at home, they cannot afford it, which is why we have many demands.”
The Luxembourg Red Cross closely cooperates with the local section of the humanitarian organisation to provide the best assistance possible. According to Maksym Dotsenko, director general of the Ukrainian Red Cross Society, 1,500 people plus an additional 8,000 volunteers are working on the ground. Thus far, they have been able to assist an estimated 10 million people.
The Luxembourg Red Cross is also active in Moldova, where thousands of refugees from Ukraine have found shelter since the beginning of the war. Jacoby explained: “Many older people fled to Moldova due to linguistic similarities, it is easier for them to communicate there than it is in Poland or Romania. This also means they have easier access to healthcare and have the option to occasionally return to their families.”
Apart from providing vital goods to people in need, the Luxembourg Red Cross also helps with psychological support on the ground.
