Above all, it was a visit with symbolic power to Ukraine, which was under attack from Russia, which Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen ended today. The fact that Van der Bellen visited Kyiv shortly after his second swearing-in was seen as a sign of solidarity.
Finally, today’s program included an on-site visit to an aid project supported by the Austrian Red Cross (ÖRK) in Uschhorod in the border triangle of Ukraine, Slovakia and Hungary. In Uzhhorod, the capital of Zakarpattia Oblast, the WCC supports a Ukrainian Red Cross (URCS) health facility.
Around three mini-clinics and eight mobile medical brigades have been set up to support the local medical system. Three ambulances were also delivered from Austria. WCC general secretary Michael Opriesnig said: “This project is a wonderful example of the full range of services we offer here.”
The humanitarian aid that Austria could give to Ukraine was also a main topic of Van der Bellen’s visit to Kyiv yesterday, where he met President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Van der Bellen then denied that he could escalate the situation with constant demands for weapons.
“Pointless Destruction”
“It has already escalated enough, but probably from the Russian side. The senseless bombing that we saw in the suburbs of Kyiv, these were not military targets, they were senseless destruction,” said Van der Bellen, who the previous day had seen the cities of Bucha and Borodyanka near Kyiv, which had been hit by Russian attacks had visited.