Turkish Red Crescent to send first relief convoy to Ukraine

Istanbul, February 26, AZERTAC Turkish Red Crescent (Kızılay) will send humanitarian aid to Ukraine on Friday in response to a call for support by the Ukrainian Red Cross to assist those affected by the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, according to Dailysabah. "We are sending a humanitarian relief convoy to Ukraine to address urgent basic needs, coordinating with Red Cross Ukraine," Kerem Kınık, the head of the charity, said on Twitter. "Our teams are being deployed to the region with warehousing tents, family-type tents and mobile catering vehicles for evacuees and IDPs," Kınık added. Stating that he is concerned about a possible refugee crisis, Kınık said all humanitarian leaders should act more actively to prevent this. "We are ready for all kinds of humanitarian aid to the Ukrainian Red Cross," said Kınık. The humanitarian aid is aimed at providing relief supplies such as tents and mobile catering vehicles for the vulnerable who evacuated due to the conflict. Three aid trucks will depart for Ukraine Friday. The Turkish Red Crescent is one of the top five organizations in the world among 192 national societies in terms of budget, the number of beneficiaries and projects. As the Red Crescent is an important player in mediation and human diplomacy internationally, the aid group is now in a considerably more policy-making position in the international arena.