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27th Feb 2022

Irish public raises €750,000 for Red Cross in Ukraine in 24 hours

Sarah McKenna Barry

The money raised will provide medical care, shelter and food to those affected by the ongoing crisis.

As the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues, the Irish public have donated a significant amount of money to the Irish Red Cross’ humanitarian appeal.

Over €750,000 has been raised in the space of 24 hours.

The money raised will provide medical care, shelter and food to those affected by the ongoing crisis.

Liam O’Dwyer, the Secretary General of the Irish Red Cross thanked the Irish public for their generosity.

Speaking on Newstalk, he said: “We really appreciate the extraordinary generosity of Irish people, we, at this stage, are over half a million euros in the last 12 hours.

“The monies involved will be going to our Red Cross colleagues in Ukraine who are providing a lot of the basic necessities for people, particularly for people on the move at the moment, in terms of shelter and food and medical care.”

An update on the online fundraiser reads: “The Red Cross and Irish Public are actively supporting the people of Ukraine. In just 24 hours the Irish public have donated €750,000 in response to the crisis in Ukraine.

“The escalation in fighting will bring further upheaval, loss, and fear to people’s daily lives, including threatening to bring a halt to key essential services. We are extremely concerned about the impact that the conflict will have on people with the latest intensification uprooting hundreds of thousands of people from their homes.”

Earlier today, the Irish Government announced a ban on Russian planes from entering Irish airspace, and urged Irish citizens to avoid non-essential travel to Russia ahead of major disruptions.

Confirming the ban, Ireland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney said: “Shocking Russian attacks on Ukraine overnight. #Ireland will move to shut off Irish Airspace to all Russian Aircraft.

“We encourage other EU partners to do the same. We also support new wide-ranging sanctions to be agreed today at EU FAC & new assistance package for #Ukraine.”

Feature image: Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie