Member organizations of the Hungarian Charity Council – 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 – have combined their efforts to send an aid convoy to Ukrainian families, Minister of State for Churches, National Minorities and Civil Affairs Miklós Soltész said at a Budapest press conference on Tuesday.

He said the primary aim of the initiative was to help those families in the Transcarpathian region who had to either leave their homes, or had their heads of family lost or wounded in the conflict.

The convoy is expected to leave in mid-April and the aid will be distributed with the help of local Ukrainian charities among those most affected. On Monday, Mr Soltész announced in the northeast Hungarian town of Nyíregyháza that with the help of Ukrainian minority leaders and diplomats an accord was reached with Ukrainian authorities to facilitate the border crossing of the aid convoys.

On Tuesday, Mr Soltész coordinated with Hungarian charities regarding the technical aspects of the aid convoys and said that depending on further talks with Ukrainian authorities, more similar convoys could be assembled over time.

He added that besides donations from private individuals, the charities would also welcome support from food producers and there was also need for medicines and medical equipment. The charities involved expect donations until Easter Monday (6 April), in order to be able to equip the convoys by the 9 April deadline.

(Ministry of Human Capacities)