News

The war in Ukraine is going on and we are united behind the urgent need to defeat the invader. Thanks to the Saving Lives project launched by Metinvest Group in concert with the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation 392,234 people have benefited from the humanitarian assistance in different regions of Ukraine.

Over 11 months of the war, the project team has developed an effective humanitarian relief supply chain from hubs in Poland to distribution centers in Zaporizhia, Kryvyi Rih, Kamianske and Dnipro. Then the assistance is sent to the settlements that need it most. In particular, it goes to the frontline and the newly-liberated areas as well as to the areas where Metinvest companies operate as they currently host hundreds of IDPs.

Saving Lives is, first of all, designed to provide food, hygiene products and essentials to Ukrainians. Overall, since the start of the full-scale war 4,077 tonnes of humanitarian aid have been provided. The assistance is primarily intended for vulnerable groups of population. One more humanitarian convoy will be sent to help nearly 16,000 families with three or more children. The convoy contains long-term storage food that will be delivered to the communities of Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhia and Donetsk oblasts. This also includes the areas of active clashes as this food assistance is of vital importance there.

Food assistance has been already provided to the families of conscripted Metinvest employees, shelter residents, utility workers of Zaporizhia, as well as new mothers in Odessa and Donetsk oblasts who received baby food kits.

AID IN NUMBERS
Saving Lives sends humanitarian convoys to nearly 70 communities. Overall, 392,234 have benefited from the initiative.

In addition, the project helps provide Ukrainian hospitals with medicine, consumables and equipment. It supports social and cultural events, helps set up programmes for psychological support and prosthetic treatment of Ukrainians. For example, Saving Lives has tied up with the Masha Fund as part of its Unbreakable Mom program. Saving Lives has recently started cooperation with Protez Hub in Ukraine, a project to support prosthetics treatment in Ukraine to help war-affected soldiers and civilians come back to normal life. In total, 158 people have already received assistance under these two projects.

Vita Fedorenko, a participant of the Unbreakable Mom project:

“It was unforgettable three weeks in the Carpathians. No air raid sirens. Wonderful nature was pleasing to the eye, and psychologists took care of our emotional state. I felt the inner strength to move on, work, and set up my home. After our victory, my dream is to come back to a liberated Ukrainian Mariupol. I am grateful to Metinvest for the opportunity to join this wonderful project. I found my footing here at Kamestal, I really feel I have become an unbreakable mom.”

Anatoliy Uzlov, a participant of the prosthetic treatment programme:

“The prosthesis makes my life much easier: I have learned how to hold things and cut bread. Now I am trying to use my bionic arm to master a laptop. The prosthetic treatment programme is a very important initiative for all Ukrainian defenders who had their limbs amputated, because it is an opportunity to live a fulfilling life without constraints.

Thanks to international partners and donations from philanthropists, Saving Lives is expanding its scope. Nearly 200 businesses and organisations from Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, the United States, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Greece, UAE, and other countries have been supporting the project. The donor partners have transferred €2,336,885 in aid and donations since the start of the humanitarian drive.

Saving Lives continues gaining momentum to support as many Ukrainians as possible in these extremely difficult times.