Dresden (dpa/sn) – Saxony’s government is preparing for more people to flee in view of the extensive destruction of energy infrastructure in the Ukraine war. That is possible if they cannot live there without electricity, water and heat, said Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU) on Tuesday when handing over relief supplies for a joint transport by Saxony and its Polish partner region Lower Silesia to Ukraine in Dresden. “I really hope that we will manage to accommodate a large number of people seeking protection in apartments again,” he said. The Minister of the Interior is already in talks with the municipalities.
The Free State and the partner voivodeship have launched a second joint aid transport to the Dnepropetrovsk region. Goods worth 25,000 euros come from Saxony, including sleeping bags, thermal underwear, first-aid kits and pallets of canned goods and long-life ready meals for the winter. Together with the goods from Poland, they should arrive at their destination before Christmas.
Kretschmer spoke of a “contribution of active solidarity”. Russia’s attack on the infrastructure should make life in Ukraine impossible without electricity and heat. The relief supplies, which were put together according to a list of needs, were intended to help those who stayed anyway. The joint action with Lower Silesia is also a sign of “how close we are”. The regions, which have been partners since 1999, jointly sent the aid supplies they needed to the war region in May.