A second aid shipment - including IT equipment from Fachhochschule Dortmund - has been ready for transport from Dortmund to south-eastern Ukraine since Tuesday, November 15, 2022. The city of Dortmund had already donated commercial vehicles and civilian goods in June to specifically support the city of Mykolaiv, which was severely damaged by the Russian war of aggression.
Both the council and the administration of the City of Dortmund condemn the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine in the strongest possible terms and show solidarity with the Ukrainian population. This solidarity and willingness to help is reflected not only in the numerous donations from Dortmund's civil society, but also in donations from the city administration and local companies.
Solidarity partnership
A second shipment of relief supplies from Dortmund to Ukraine will now follow in connection with the "Dortmund-Ukraine Relief Bridge", which aims to involve civil society organizations from Dortmund and the city's associated companies in the solidarity partnership with Ukraine.
In addition to the city administration of Dortmund and its subsidiaries DEW21 and DSW21, a large number of Dortmund and regional companies and stakeholders are involved in the second delivery with extensive donations in kind. Fachhochschule Dortmund contributed nine desktop computers, four monitors and various peripheral equipment.
Other partners supporting the campaign
The donations comprise a total of eleven vehicles, including seven vans and flatbed trucks for transporting people and materials, a farm tractor and two buses. In addition to the IT components of the UAS, the partners involved are also donating various small tools and work materials, clothing for the winter, pipes for the water supply and medicines. With the help of funding from the "Service Agency Communities in One World" (SKEW) in the Ukraine Small Projects Fund, the city of Dortmund was also able to purchase work clothes for the winter for the employees of the Mykolayiv city administration. These relief supplies will support the city of Mykolayiv in maintaining the municipal infrastructure.
Coordinated by the Office for International Relations and the City of Dortmund's Public Procurement Office, all of these relief supplies will be transported together to the Romanian-Ukrainian border. On November 15, 2022, three trucks were loaded with the relief supplies and vehicles and set off. The two buses are expected to follow three weeks later. The handover to the partners from Mykolaiv is planned at a logistics hub for humanitarian aid in the Romanian border town of Tulcea. Contact with the hub was established by the international division of THW, which was already using it for aid deliveries to southern Ukraine.
Handover to the city administration in Mykolayiv
The delivery that has now started is to be handed over to representatives of the Mykolayiv city administration. The handover will be accompanied on site by the Head of the International Relations Office, Martin van der Pütten, and the Head of the City of Dortmund's Public Procurement Office, Aiko Wichmann, as well as the German Embassy in Bucharest (Romania).
"Cities help cities - across borders," commented Martin van der Pütten. "With this second aid transport, we want to help maintain the local infrastructure in Mykolaiv. It's great to see that, in addition to the citizens of the city, the Dortmund city administration, local businesses and other stakeholders are showing solidarity with Ukraine and helping. That's what Dortmund is all about. We all share the hope that this terrible war will come to a quick end."