Joensuu’s municipal government decided in its meeting on Monday, February 28 to give Ukraine humanitarian aid in collaboration with Finland's largest cities. The cities will aid the country of Ukraine and its citizens with 1.5 million euros in total. The aid will be given either as monetary aid or material humanitarian aid in cooperation with the state of Finland, an aid organization or through another reliable partner.
The cities involved in the aid are Helsinki, Espoo, Tampere, Turku, Oulu, Vantaa, Hämeenlinna, Jyväskylä, Kotka, Kouvola, Kuopio, Lahti, Lappeenranta, Mikkeli, Porvoo, Rovaniemi, and Joensuu. The cities encourage Finland’s other municipalities to offer similar aid and cooperation as well.
– The war in Ukraine has created a humanitarian emergency, and aid for those in the middle of the war is important now. The cities want to demonstrate their support for Ukrainians in this very sad and upsetting situation, say the mayors and leaders of the aforementioned cities.
The City of Joensuu will provide Ukraine with 40,000 euros of humanitarian aid in their emergency caused by the war. There are numerous citizens in Joensuu from different countries that are affected by the war in Ukraine. 2,200 Russians and tens of Ukrainians live in Joensuu. The city emphasizes that everyone has equal rights to a good life and services in Joensuu.
– On behalf of the city of Joensuu, we want to remind that this tragedy affects everyone regardless of their citizenship. The war in Ukraine can easily stir up different forms of tension between people, and we hope that we would all have wisdom to look past that. There is no place for confrontation, because we all surely have the same worry about children, adults, working people and the elderly. Everyone should receive help in processing this crisis. We hope that peace would be made as soon as possible, says Juha Mustonen, the chairman of Joensuu’s city council.
Ukraine was plunged into war when Russia invaded the country on Thursday, 24.2.2022, and Ukraine has appealed internationally for urgent support for the country and its citizens. Many parties, including Finland, have already made decisions to support Ukraine. Ukraine’s embassy has also approached certain Finnish cities with a request for support to relieve the destruction and loss caused by the militant activity directed at Ukraine and its people.
The city of Joensuu bases its actions on the govenment’s policies, according to which Finland strongly condemns the military actions launched by Russia in Ukraine. The city of Joensuu has participated along with Finland’s largest cities in supporting Ukraine by lighting different landmarks. The tower of Joensuu’s city hall was lit with the colors of the Ukrainian flag over the weekend. Ukraine’s colors are also on display during the whole Valo Liikuttaa campaign at Joensuu’s Laulurinne on 26.2–6.3.
More information on Finland’s policies can be found on the President of the Republic’s website
