Speaking to public broadcaster Kossuth Radio, Miklós Soltész encouraged the public to continue volunteering, donating money and food and offering shelter to refugees.

The charity organisations involved in the programme have provided some 200 million forints’ worth of support to more than 59,000 people at the aid points at the border and Budapest’s railway stations, Soltész said.

He noted that the government had first set aside 600 million forints followed by an additional 1.3 billion forints to aid those in western Ukraine’s Transcarpathia region and in other parts of the country.

Meanwhile, he called on the left-wing opposition “not to play with fire” and not to call on Hungary to send weapons or troops to Ukraine.

“Those saying we should take part in this are committing a huge sin against Transcarpathia Hungarians,” he said, emphasising that the current situation called for perseverance, patience and love.

The government launched its Bridge for Transcarpathia aid campaign on Feb 25.
 

Charity Council Orgs Get HUF 3 Billion Support, Says Govt Spokeswoman

The government is supporting the member organisations of the Charity Council with 3 billion forints (EUR 7.8m) with a view to mitigating the effects of the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine which also directly affects Hungary, government spokeswoman Alexandra Szentkirályi said on Saturday.

The Catholic Caritas, the Hungarian Reformed Church Aid, the Hungarian Charity Service of the Order of Malta, the Hungarian Interchurch Aid, the Hungarian Baptist Aid and the Hungarian Red Cross will receive 500 million forints each in support, Szentkirályi said at the aid point set up in Beregsurány, at the Hungary-Ukraine border.

She praised the efforts of government bodies, the police, the disaster management authority, local councils, aid groups and civil groups in helping refugees in recent days, adding that their help would also be needed in the coming days and weeks.

Szentkirályi said the government would continue to provide all the help it could to those in need.


Photo courtesy: Alexandra Szentkirályi's Facebook page