Residents of Moscow collected 200,000 goods for refugees arriving in Russia from the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics. This was reported on the website of the mayor of the capital.
It is noted that the first truck with humanitarian aid has already been sent to the Voronezh region.
Muscovites bring food, personal hygiene products, dishes, goods for children and the elderly and necessary items to the Mosvolonter resource center and 11 district centers of the Moscow House of Public Organizations.
“At the moment, caring citizens have helped to collect more than 200 thousand different goods, about 30 tons of food and over 7 thousand liters of water,” the message says.
Citizens take special care of children: they brought tens of thousands of various children’s goods, including stationery, clothes, shoes, toys, baby food, and do not forget about animals: they leave food for dogs and cats, treats and leashes.
Earlier, on February 24, the Central Committee of Rosugleprof (Russian Committee of the Independent Trade Union of Coal Industry Workers) began to provide financial assistance to residents of the DPR and LPR who arrived in the Russian Federation. Earlier, the Kemerovo region came up with such an initiative.
On February 21, VTsIOM reported that, according to a survey, 75% of Russians were in favor of paying 10,000 rubles to evacuees from the LPR and DPR, which Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed to implement. In addition, the majority of Russian citizens positively assess the assistance provided to refugees from Donbass by volunteers (82%).
On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special operation to protect the civilian population of Donbass. After that, the Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of hitting the country’s military infrastructure and introduced martial law throughout Ukraine. He also said that Kyiv is breaking off diplomatic relations with Moscow and withdrawing its diplomats from the embassy.
The Russian Defense Ministry stressed that the army did not carry out air, missile or artillery strikes on the cities of Ukraine. The civilian population of the country is not in danger. High-precision weapons destroy military infrastructure.
On February 21, the heads of the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR), Denis Pushilin and Leonid Pasechnik, asked Putin to recognize the independence of the republics. The corresponding decrees were signed in the evening of the same day. In the presence of the leaders of the republics, the President of the Russian Federation also signed treaties of friendship, cooperation and assistance. The documents were ratified the next day by both the republics themselves and the Russian State Duma.
The situation in Donbass escalated on February 17, 2022. The DPR and LPR reported heavy shelling by Ukrainian security forces, including from heavy weapons. The republics announced a general mobilization and evacuation of civilians to the territory of Russia.
Since 2014, the Ukrainian authorities have been conducting a military operation against the inhabitants of Donbass, who refused to recognize the results of the coup d’état and the new government in Ukraine. At the same time, Kyiv blames Moscow for the current situation. Russia has repeatedly stated that it is not a party to the conflict.
For more up-to-date videos and details about the situation in Donbass, watch the Izvestia TV channel.