Aid supplies from Ukrainian Embassy in Ankara sent to Ukraine amid war with Russia

By Behlul Cetinkaya

ANKARA (AA) - The aid supplies collected in Turkiye and Azerbaijan for the Ukrainian people struggling amid the Russia-Ukraine war were sent from the Ukrainian Embassy in Ankara, the embassy said Monday.

Aid supplies sent by citizens of the two countries who want to support civilians in Ukraine due to the war were collected at the embassy.

The supplies, loaded onto trucks at the embassy, include basic food and necessities. The trucks left for the Turkish metropolis Istanbul.

A total of three trucks of aid materials in Ankara will be transferred to a location where other aid materials are collected in Istanbul. They will then be delivered to Ukraine via Bulgaria and Romania, according to a statement by the Ukrainian Embassy in the Turkish capital.

Vasyl Bodnar, the Ukrainian ambassador to Ankara, announced that 1.5 million Turkish liras (over $108,500) and $12,000 of donations had been collected for Ukraine in Turkiye.

Since last Thursday -- days after Russian recognition of two separatist-held enclaves in eastern Ukraine -- Russia's war on Ukraine has been met by an outcry from the international community, with the EU, UK, and US implementing a range of economic sanctions against Russia.

Russia has been further isolated after its planes have been barred from flying in European and Canadian airspace, and a number of its banks have been removed from the SWIFT international banking system.

*Writing by Merve Berker