Magnificent readers’ £268,000 of kindness: Boris Johnson and Keir Starmer back call for urgent donations to aid Ukraine victims as fund swells, adding to £500,000 from the Mail’s parent company
- Boris Johnson and Keir Starmer back the Daily Mail’s call for urgent donations
- At least 368,000 Ukrainians have so far escaped the invasion into the country
- EU chiefs warned that 7 million will seek sanctuary in neighbouring countries
Magnificent Mail readers yesterday gave £268,000 on the first day of our Ukraine Appeal as Britain’s political leaders united behind our crusade to help the desperate.
Boris Johnson and Keir Starmer cast aside their differences to back the Daily Mail’s call for urgent donations.
And as well as reader contributions, the newspaper’s owner gave £500,000 – sending the first day’s monumental total soaring past £750,000.
A girl cries as she sits on a camp bed at a temporary shelter for Ukrainian refugees at the border crossing in Ubla, eastern Slovakia
Our appeal’s storming start came as thousands more terrified mothers and children fled the Russian onslaught.
And these are the people who we want to help – mothers struggling in the snow clutching children, belongings and pets on the Ukraine border as their menfolk are ordered to stay and fight Putin’s Red Army.
Since Vladimir Putin stunned the world last week, at least 368,000 Ukrainians have so far escaped his ruthless troops’ ferocious invasion.
EU chiefs warned yesterday that seven million forced from their homes will seek sanctuary in European and other neighbouring countries.
In what could potentially become the bleakest humanitarian crisis in Europe since the 1990s Balkans war, the Daily Mail is urging readers to send donations.
The money, being raised in conjunction with our sister paper, The Mail on Sunday, will go to reputable charities that are already on the ground doling out hot food, blankets and vital shelter to stricken families.
Yesterday the newspaper’s parent company, Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT), led the way with a £500,000 donation.
A Ukrainian woman reacts after arriving at the Medyka border crossing, in Poland today
Its chairman, Lord Rothermere, said: ‘The scenes we are all watching unfold in Ukraine could scarcely be more harrowing.
‘Courageous citizens forced to take up arms against an aggressive and immoral Russian state.
‘At the borders, hundreds of thousands of refugees – the vast majority of them women and children – in desperate need.
‘The heroism of the Ukrainian defence humbles us all. But we in Britain can play our part, too.
‘That is why the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday have together launched an urgent appeal to support the charities already on the ground assisting stricken families.
‘There is no time to lose, so DMGT is today making a donation of £500,000 to kickstart the campaign.’ He added: ‘I hope it may inspire you and your families to give generously.’
Last night the Prime Minister said: ‘The people of the United Kingdom have a proud legacy of coming to the aid of those experiencing persecution.
‘Russia’s barbaric invasion of Ukraine is provoking perhaps the biggest humanitarian disaster in Europe in more than a generation.
‘The Government has stepped forward in the last few weeks to provide millions in humanitarian aid and defensive military support to the people of Ukraine, and will continue to do so.’
Mr Johnson added: ‘I pay tribute to the Mail readers who are playing their part in helping those in dire need.’
Meanwhile, Labour leader Sir Keir said: ‘The Ukrainian people have shown immense bravery as they continue to resist Russian aggression.
Ukrainian civilians who came to Poland due to Russia’s attacks on Ukraine, are seen at the train station in the city of Medyka, Poland
‘Appeals such as this that seek to support Ukrainians with vital resources as they defend their homes and country are vital.’
There were distressing scenes yesterday as Ukrainian families endured sub-zero conditions fleeing to Poland.
At the Medyka border post, where 40,000 people have crossed from Ukraine since Thursday, a queue of cars and buses snaked back through the snow 22 miles to the town of Sudova Vyshnya.
Fathers, husbands and sons over 18 cannot join the exodus – they are ordered to drop off their loved ones before turning back to join the battle, leading to heartbreaking scenes at the border as divided families sob their goodbyes.
Aid agencies such as the Red Cross are already on the ground giving basic assistance to the new arrivals.
The authorities have set up makeshift reception centres in tents where people can get medical aid and process asylum papers.
In Poland, volunteers have been turning up in their droves offering donations of food, blankets and clothes. Kitchens were set up serving hot meals alongside roads.
Mike Adamson, chief executive of British Red Cross, said: ‘We are gravely concerned about the intensification of fighting in Ukraine over the past few days…We are asking the UK public to help – your donations help us to deliver food, water, first aid, medicines, warm clothes and shelter.’
Q&A
Where will the cash go?
All donations to the Mail Ukraine Appeal will be distributed to charities and aid organisations providing essential services. We are negotiating with a number of reputable charities, and formal announcements are expected in the coming days.
How will it be spent?
Heartbreaking images and stories show families – mostly women, children, the infirm and elderly – fleeing from Russia’s invading armed forces.
As this tally of misery increases over the coming days and weeks, these innocent victims of a tyrant will require accommodation, schools and medical support. Many aid agencies are already on the ground in Ukraine and neighbouring countries to help people fleeing the conflict.
What are the aid agencies doing?
Mike Adamson, head of the British Red Cross, said last night that it was concerned about the consequences for evacuees if essential services, such as water and healthcare, begin to fail.
He stressed that donations were ‘vital’ to help the charity support as many people as possible. The Red Cross, which has launched its own Ukraine crisis fund, will spend the money on delivering food, water, first aid, medicines, warm clothes and shelter, he added.
Another charity raising funds for Ukraine, CARE International, is working with one of the largest non-governmental organisations in eastern Europe, People in Need. It is distributing vital emergency supplies to cover daily needs as well as specialised staff to offer support to refugees.
Who is at risk?
Women and children are being separated from the male members of their family as they flee the conflict zones. CARE International said this phenomenon presents its own unique perils.
In addition, pregnant women will face difficulties as it becomes harder to access healthcare, presenting a risk not only to them but to their unborn child.
How many people could be forced to flee?
The United Nations Refugee Agency has forecast that up to five million Ukrainians could be forced to flee.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees said last night that so far 368,000 people have left the country – a figure that many fear will continue to rise relentlessly.
What is the UK doing for refugees?
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said yesterday that ministers are ‘urgently’ looking at what more they can do. She told the BBC’s Sunday Morning programme: ‘It is a desperate situation. We’re working with the United Nations, we’re working with the Red Cross, to keep humanitarian corridors open.’
Bel Mooney: Sorrow is not enough. We can and must send help
What would you take? Imagine the moment – hearing the sound of sirens, the crump of weapons, the crash of bombs – when you know you must flee from your beloved home to any place of safety.
You grab a bag or two – you can’t carry much – your children are crying, your heart cold with terror. Do you take your little one’s beloved teddy bear?
Will you stuff that treasured framed photo of your late parents into the rucksack, as you hold back your tears for the sake of the kids? Of course somebody must carry your cat, your dog, because they are family too.
Demonstrators hold placards and Ukraine flags during a protest in Trafalgar Square in London today
The nightmare of the Ukrainian people is all too real and in this, the 21st century, we have a ringside seat at a humanitarian catastrophe.
Through the internet and the tireless efforts of news crews, reporters, and photographers, we are witnessing the grief and guts of a European nation attacked by a ruthless tyrant.
Seeing the dramatic images and reading the detail of how the terrible events are playing out, what else can we do but feel an impotent mixture of horror, sadness and rage on their behalf?
But of course, we can do more. At times like this it is not enough to shed a tear at the heart-rending picture of a toddler screaming in terror at a packed train window.
Such powerful images possess the power to cut through the ranting of a dictator and the rhetoric of international leaders and the mind-numbing detail of international finances, sanctions, and so on. They must be allowed to speak to our hearts.
Now is the time to allow those faces to appeal to us as fellow men, women and children as we reach out with the practical help they so urgently need.
Yes, of course it is significant for people in Western nations to take to the streets and protest against war. But the harrowing images of lives turned upside down cry out to us for concrete support in terms of cash.
We may well be witnessing the worst refugee crisis on the European continent since the fall of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s.
Refugees that fled the conflict from neighbouring Ukraine walk in a refugee camp set up on a soccer field, in Siret, Romania today
That is why the Daily Mail is joining with our sister paper the Mail on Sunday to launch an appeal for donations to help the innocent people of Ukraine.
Oh, it’s easy to turn away from events in a foreign land. Too easy to say: ‘Not my problem.’
But when you see pictures of the streets of Kyiv – glimpsing the kind of coffee shop you pop in to on the way to work, a beauty salon where women like you get their nails done, a big supermarket for the weekly family shop, and so on – you are looking at a busy European city like ours, where people like us fall in love, feel sad, study, worry about Granny and want the best for their children, just as we do.
When I read about the hundreds of thousands of displaced women and children separated from husbands and fathers and stumbling long, cold, freezing miles to the Polish and Romanian borders of Ukraine, I couldn’t help thinking about my own family.
What if my own daughter had to flee in terror with her two children, leaving her soldier husband, my beloved son-in-law, behind to fight?
To make that emotional leap and imagine your own family torn apart is not to make their suffering all about you; on the contrary it is to invoke one of the most precious and uplifting aspects of humanity.
‘Empathy’ means understanding and feeling the situation of another person as if it were your own.
This reaches far beyond mere ‘sympathy’ – or feeling sorry for somebody. No, vital empathy is the vast imaginative energy that catapults you into their hearts.
What if the bombs were falling on Manchester? What if your 19-year-old son were lying on his stomach, weapon at the ready, to protect your city?
What if it was your sister giving birth to her baby in an Underground station packed with terrified people?
Would you be joining your friends and neighbours in a panicky production line of improvised weapons to keep the invaders out of your street?
Perhaps your home town is twinned with another town elsewhere. You may remember that the ‘twin town’ movement after the Second World War was seen as a way to bring European people into a closer understanding of each other and to promote cross-border projects and peace.
Boris Johnson speaking during a visit to the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Holy Family of London, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, today
In other words, the universal dream of humanity that is usually destroyed by politicking and power.
But we must cling to the dream and never let it go. That’s why it pleases me to write that Kyiv is still twinned with Edinburgh, Donetsk with Sheffield, Luhansk with Cardiff, Lviv with Rochdale, Odessa with Liverpool…and I’m sure there must be more.
The idea of ‘twinning’ may be symbolic, but it does matter. To feel the plight of our brothers and sisters in Ukraine as if it were our own is to make a powerful statement about all that is best about the human spirit.
We are moved by the agony of those who have left their homes in fear because we know how we would feel were the circumstances the same.
And in that case, wouldn’t we be hoping and praying with all our hearts and souls that strangers somewhere would open their hearts and help us?
Nearly 15 years of writing my Saturday advice column for the Mail have brought me very close to readers – and that’s why I know what good hearts you have.
The generous people of Poland and Romania have already shown what it is to offer immediate practical help to their needy Ukrainian neighbours as they desperately cross the borders.
In Britain we are not so near, but we can still dig deep, in the certain knowledge that the crisis can only worsen.
Clothes, food, medical supplies and shelter are already in short supply and reputable charities are making concrete plans to help stricken families in the best ways possible.
But let us be realistic: this will need a lot of money. My cash and yours. Please help us to help them.
The Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday UKRAINE REFUGEE APPEAL
Readers of Mail Newspapers have always shown immense generosity at times of crisis.
Calling upon that human spirit, we are now launching an appeal to raise money for refugees from Ukraine.
For, surely, no one can fail to be moved by the heartbreaking images and stories of families – mostly women, children, the infirm and elderly – fleeing from Russia’s invading armed forces.
As this tally of misery increases over the coming days and months, these innocent victims of a tyrant will require accommodation, schools and medical support.
All donations to the Mail Ukraine Appeal will be distributed to charities and aid organisations providing such essential services.
In the name of charity and compassion, we urge all our readers to give swiftly and generously.
TO MAKE A DONATION ONLINE
Via bank transfer, please use these details:
Account name: Associated Newspapers
Account number: 20769512
Sort code: 50-00-00
TO MAKE A DONATION VIA CHEQUE
Make your cheque payable to ‘Mail Newspapers – Ukraine Appeal’
and post it to: Mail Newspapers Ukraine Appeal, GFM, 42 Phoenix Court, Hawkins Road, Colchester, Essex CO2 8JY
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