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IDPs accommodated in Metinvest shelters regularly receive humanitarian assistance.

Since the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine, Zaporizhia has become a shelter for IDPs from southern and eastern parts of Ukraine. People are evacuated daily from the temporarily occupied territories where active hostilities continue. Metinvest employees act as volunteers to help IDPs. They help them find shelter, receive daily hot meals, food packages, clothes, consultations, medical and psychological assistance, as well as find job openings.

The Saving Lives humanitarian project launched by Metinvest Group and DTEK in concert with the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation has initiated a new effort in Zaporizhia in June. Earlier, IDPs accommodated in Metinvest shelters received food packages from Europe. Now they can receive sanitary items as well. Also, there is a choice of clothes and footwear for IDPs. The war prompted people to flee and many IDPs come to Zaporizhia with nothing.

Olena is an IDP who arrived in Zaporizhia with two children. She told us how scared she was to flee the city under the shelling at her own risk:

“My family lived in Melitopol Raion. When the hostilities started my child had to stay hungry as we did not have enough food and it was really scary. I decided to go to Zaporizhia because of this dangerous situation. We were lucky to have escaped. I am grateful to the volunteers who hosted us, provided food and accommodation. We’ve been here for a week and we plan to stay here. I am so grateful that we have not been left to fend for ourselves in these hard times. Today our family has received sanitary items: shampoo, shower gel, nappies for my youngest child and clothes for my elder daughter. This assistance is of great importance; we would not be able to survive without it. I want to thank Metinvest for helping us,” stated Olena Navozenko.

Sanitary kits have been formed as part of Saving Lives project launched by Metinvest and DTEK in concert with the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation. Over 90 international companies have joined the initiative. In particular, Agritrade Ukraine, the Coordination Centre of the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture, provide food packs for IDPs.

“Metinvest Group, DTEK and the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation have been helping Ukrainians on the humanitarian front since the first days of the war. Our foreign donors and partners have joined the humanitarian mission and their help is not withering away. On the contrary, we are gathering pace. As part of the Saving Lives project, we regularly help those displaced from the cities and towns where active hostilities are ongoing and people can’t stay there because their lives are in danger. We hand over foodstuffs, sanitary items, clothing and other essentials. Metinvest has five shelters operating in Zaporizhia. They host around 400 IDPs who will receive humanitarian assistance on a regular basis. We are grateful to our foreign partners for their help at such a difficult time for Ukraine and Ukrainians,” said Serhiy Samarsky, head of Social Services Department at Zaporizhstal.

Metinvest has hosted over 6,000 IDPs at its social facilities in Zaporizhia. The company provides accommodation, psychological, medical and humanitarian assistance, as well as employment support. Earlier, Volodymyr Zelensky visited one of Metinvest’s shelters. The President talked to the displaced and inspected their living conditions.