Poland to provide food aid to Ukraine says minister
Poland will send food aid to Ukraine through charity organisations and government sources, Henryk Kowalczyk the agriculture minister, told PAP on Tuesday following a telephone conversation with the agriculture minister of Ukraine.
Kowalczyk, who is also a deputy prime minister, described the food situation in Ukraine as "dramatic," especially in those cities which are being bombarded and where humanitarian aid convoys are fired at.
"We have established that we will help with food and that we will deliver grocery goods to the western part of Ukraine and the Ukrainians themselves will distribute it," Kowalczyk told PAP, adding that the aid will be in the form of products with a long shelf life, such as tinned foods and pasta.
Agriculture could be also disrupted by Russian occupation, the minister said. He explained that agricultural workers in areas under Russian occupation have been fired at and so can’t get to the fields. The Russians have also destroyed fuel, Kowalczyk added, leading to a great risk that crops will not be sown in large parts of the country.
As a result, he said, future food supplies in Ukraine are under threat.
"Poland will not only deliver food aid, but I guaranteed (Agriculture - PAP) Minister Roman Leshchenko that all refugees are safe and have all they need," Kowalczyk said.
