The government’s aid programme to help Ukrainian citizens fleeing from war raised 540 million forints (EUR 1.4m) in donations by Sunday morning, the state secretary for church and minority relations has said. Speaking to public broadcaster Kossuth Radio, Miklós Soltész encouraged the public to continue volunteering, donating money and food and offering shelter to refugees.
The charity organisations involved in the programme have provided some 200 million forints’ worth of support to more than 59,000 people at the aid points at the border and Budapest’s railway stations, Soltész said. He noted that the government had first set aside 600 million forints followed by an additional 1.3 billion forints to aid those in western Ukraine’s Transcarpathia region and in other parts of the country.
Meanwhile, he called on the left-wing opposition “not to play with fire” and not to call on Hungary to send weapons or troops to Ukraine. “Those saying we should take part in this are committing a huge sin against Transcarpathia Hungarians,” he said, emphasising that the current situation called for perseverance, patience and love.
The government launched its Bridge for Transcarpathia aid campaign on Feb 25.
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