the Mayor of the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, Andrii Sadovyi, has accused the international aid organizations of insufficient preparation for a Russian war of aggression. “Not one international organization was prepared, although everyone had been talking about a possible Russian attack for six months,” Sadowyj told the Süddeutsche Zeitung. “Probably because the Western analysis services said that the war would last only two days and that Ukraine would be occupied by the Russians without resistance.” To date, there are no “effective international emergency plans”.
Lviv is only around 80 kilometers from the border with NATO member Poland. Since the start of the war on February 24, the city has become a gathering point for refugees, diplomats and correspondents. “In the first ten days we took in all the refugees who wanted to stay here. Now all the hotels, youth hostels and apartments are full,” Sadowyj told the “SZ”. “We placed people in about 500 schools, gyms, theaters, cultural centers or community centers. With 200,000 people, our capacities were exhausted.” In the Lviv region, as many people were accommodated again.
The mayor said the most urgently needed money was for the supply of food, medicine, container houses, mobile showers and toilets.