Vatican transfers 6 million Euros to Ukraine for humanitarian assistance
On December 25, the first tranche of humanitarian assistance in the amount of 6 million Euros was allocated to Ukraine on behalf of Pope Francis, the press service of Vatican City reported.
The money was raised in response to Pope Francis’s call to churches all over Europe for assistance to people affected by the conflict in eastern Ukraine. The money will be spent on the needs of more than 2 million Ukrainians, primarily in Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk.
The report notes that the Special Committee, which is located in Zaporizhia, was created by Vatican City in July 2016. This Special Committee selected humanitarian assistance programs for victims of hostilities in the Donbas for funding. The money that will be transferred by Vatican City will be distributed among 20 large-scale projects and 39 small initiatives. The funds will be primarily spent on treatment needs, food products, personal care products and housing.
Since April 2016, 12 million Euros in donations were raised in response to the call of Pope Francis. The Vatican City report does not specify when the remaining part of funds will be transferred.