Helping Ukraine in wartime: new business stories
A full-scale war has united businesses, the government, and the people of Ukraine. From the very first days, the members of the European Business Association, as representatives of responsible business in Ukraine, provided support to the army, territorial defense, doctors, volunteers, and the community. Three months have passed, but business stays strong in helping the country in wartime. This can be proved by the stories of support from our member companies.
Since the beginning of the war, the OKKO chain of gas stations has been feeding defenders of Ukraine in hotspots free of charge. As of May 25, the OKKO chains had donated more than 47.9 million hryvnias for the needs of defense and support to war victims, either directly through funds or with goods and services. The company provided fuel to the Come Back Alive Charitable Foundation and launched a joint project on evacuation and transportation of humanitarian aid. The company transferred almost 2 million hryvnias for the purchase of trucks.
GConnect management doubled its donation budget and distributed funds equally to each employee as everyone has different priorities so they help different funds. Some want to help the funds directly related to the army, some want to help the wounded and displaced. There are colleagues who sent thermal imagers and helped the territorial defense units of the Dnipro city.
Ryder Ukraine is a company that used to lease commercial equipment to representatives of various businesses in peacetime, and now it works to advance the victory of Ukraine. Thus, RYDER vehicles deliver humanitarian aid to residents of the affected regions. For their part, representatives of the central office in the United States purchase and ship to Ukraine a variety of equipment and supplies for the military. In total, since the beginning of the war, about $ 1 million worth of vehicles, drones, thermal imagers, and equipment have been transferred.
To support Ukrainian business, Forum Group completely abolished the rent for office space in March and April for its clients, and from May, it offered individual conditions to each resident. The funds, that some companies still decided to pay, were donated to the Armed Forces. The company provides assistance and everything necessary to its employees who have joined the Armed Forces. All other employees have got their regular salaries throughout the wartime, and the percentage of people who have returned to work in Kyiv is increasing every day. For businesses relocating from war-torn regions to Kyiv, the company offers a special support program to ensure that the relocation takes place under the most favorable conditions.
In March, Astarta-Kyiv together with the Believe in Yourself Charitable Foundation created the humanitarian project Common Help UA. Thanks to the joint efforts, resources, and assets of all partners, almost 7,000 tons of humanitarian aid (food, medicine, personal hygiene products, and clothing) have already been transferred. Assistance was received by 503 thousand + evacuated and victims of hostilities Ukrainians, as well as 130+ social and medical institutions of Ukraine, which serve 1 million + people. In total, more than $ 8.3 million was provided under this project. 3,000 tons of humanitarian aid from the UN World Food Program were also delivered.
During the war, Biosphere Corporation developed and launched a new product – wet towels for personal hygiene “Pure Victory”. The first 11,000 packages were donated to the Armed Forces and Ukrzaliznytsia employees. And another 7,000 packages were sent to volunteers for further distribution in the hottest spots of the country.
Military support, humanitarian aid, cooperation with charitable foundations, and work on the information front – members of the EBA Industrial Environment and Sustainable Development Committee work on all fronts to support the country.
Ferrexpo has increased the budget of the Special Humanitarian Fund to $ 12.5 million. These funds covered the costs of 20 cribs, 50 strollers, more than 1,000 packs of diapers, more than 4,000 units of hygiene products, baby food, and 5 tons of other goods to support the temporarily displaced persons; a batch of meat products (sausages) to meet the needs of residents and IDPs in Poltava region; 150 tanks water of 1000 liters each for the residents of Mykolayiv worth 1 million UAH; medical supplies for three hospitals in the city of Kremenchuk worth over 1.2 million hryvnias and operating table for Dnipropetrovsk Regional Clinical Hospital.
Interpipe sent $ 25 million.to help the Armed Forces and civilians together with the Victor & Elena Pinchuk Foundations, providing armored vehicles, thousands of bulletproof vests and helmets, communications and reconnaissance equipment, other ammunition, tactical and civilian medicine, food, baby food, medicines, and hygiene products, as well as the organization of cultural and communication projects to support Ukraine by the world community. Besides, 21 thermal imagers, more than 100 radio sets, and other equipment were handed over to 792 Interpipe employees, who currently serve in the Armed Forces and the territorial defense.
Since russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, DTEK has provided UAH 491 million in support of the Armed Forces, the Territorial Defense Forces, and humanitarian efforts. The priority areas of assistance include the purchase of protective equipment for the military, medicines and food kits for Ukrainians, as well as support for internally displaced persons. For the needs of the Armed Forces and Territorial Defense, the company transferred 142 SUVs and minibusses from its own fleet and donated more than 30,000 liters of condensate and diesel fuel. More than 450 tons of coal were donated to Ukrzaliznytsia’s evacuation trains and another 100 tons were provided to local communities for the purpose of heat supply.
During the war, Kernel kept its people-oriented focus – on the Armed Forces, employees, and their families, as well as residents of the regions of presence. It spent UAH 606.4 million on the purchase of military equipment, humanitarian aid, medical equipment, and medicines. The company supports 1123 employees who currently serve in the Armed Forces and the Ministry of Defense with equipment and payments, as well as offers individual consultations with a psychologist and weekly psychological support webinars for all employees and family members.
Apart from the $ 1 million transferred to the Ministry of Social Policy via the NBU, ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih provided $ 250,000 in medical and humanitarian aid to the Lviv Regional State Administration and $ 350,000 to Kryvyi Rih hospitals (hemostatic agents from Spain and Poland, orthopedic surgical equipment). Germany).
DyckerhoffCement continues to provide assistance to the Armed Forces in the form of military uniforms, military footwear, as well as mineral drinking water for the humanitarian hubs of the Mykolayiv Regional Military Administration – to meet the drinking needs of the community.
Since the war, Bayer has provided the Ministry of Health and the National Cancer Institute with 10 million euros in assistance worth more than 31 million hryvnias. This includes 30,000 doses of antibiotics and 1 ton of sterile medical supplies, and medicines; and donated 26,000 bags of corn seeds at the request of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy to support more than 1,250 small farms in 17 regions of Ukraine.
In May, Metinvest donated more than 60 drones and 50 sets of night vision devices and special helmets, 1,000 sets of special-purpose ammunition worth more than $ 2.5 million to the Armed Forces. Also a month ago, Metinvest opened a Zaporizhzhia Center for Rehabilitation and Reintegration of Displaced Persons where 700 people have already received the medical care, medicine, and consultations.
GMK-Center makes reviews on the Ukrainian military economy for international audiences in media and at international conferences, it prepares research on the negative impact of war on the world economy due to the rupture of logistics chains and participates in discussions on liberalization and trade barriers for Ukraine.
Since the war, Kronospan‘s branches in Europe have raised humanitarian aid to Ukrainians totaling about 800,000 euros. They were also involved in organizing the delivery of humanitarian goods, providing Ukrainians from the war-affected regions with everything they need.
In April, the Dnipro Metallurgical Plant donated more than UAH 2 million worth of materials for the city’s defense. Thus, the company shipped 220 tons of scrap metal for the Department of Highway Repair and Maintenance to organize territorial defense and build fortifications, as well as scrap metal and wooden pallets to the military unit to equip the dugouts.
During the war, Ukrenergo restored 90% of the destroyed high-voltage networks in the occupied territories of Kyiv, Chernihiv, Sumy, and, where possible, in Kharkiv and Mykolaiv regions. This helps to supply electricity to about 6 million consumers in these regions. Thus, 28 power transmission lines (330-750 kV) and 12 substations (220-330 kV) were restored.
Asters‘ lawyers provide their expert support to the state pro bono, namely on the development of legislation during martial law and the period of reconstruction and reconstruction of Ukraine. The company is also involved in the development and implementation of international legal mechanisms to compensate for damage caused to Ukraine by the armed aggression of the russian federation.
And that’s not all. Our marathon of stories will be continued.
If you want to share how your business supports Ukraine, please contact [email protected]
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