War in Ukraine: Kyiv sends 500 tons of wheat flour to Syria, says Zelensky

Ukraine, a global producer and exporter of grain, has sent its first batch of food aid to Syria, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced today.

Zelensky stated that 500 metric tons of wheat flour are already en route to Syria as part of the Ukrainian humanitarian initiative “Grain from Ukraine,” in collaboration with the United Nations World Food Programme.

“The wheat flour is planned to be distributed to 33,250 families, or 167,000 people, in the coming weeks,” Zelensky wrote on X, adding: “Each package weighs 15 kilograms and can feed a family of five for a month.”

Following the ousting of Bashar al-Assad, a close ally of Russia, Ukraine has expressed its intention to restore relations with Syria.

Traditionally, Kyiv exports flour and corn to countries in the Middle East but not to Syria.

During Assad’s tenure, Syria imported food from Russia. However, Syria’s grain supply from Russia has been suspended due to uncertainty, Russian and Syrian sources reported earlier this month.

Ukraine’s exports were disrupted by Russia’s invasion in February 2022, which significantly reduced shipments through the Black Sea. Since then, Ukraine has broken the de facto maritime blockade and resumed exports from the southern port of Odessa.

Furthermore, 50 tons of humanitarian aid, consisting of medical supplies funded by the European Union in coordination with the World Health Organization (WHO), are expected to arrive in Syria on December 31, a WHO representative told Agence France-Presse today.

The medical supplies arrived yesterday, Thursday, in Istanbul, Turkey, and are expected to reach Syria on December 31 after completing customs procedures in Turkey, clarified Mrinalini Santanam, a WHO press officer in Gaziantep, southern Turkey.

The EU had announced in mid-December the establishment of a humanitarian air bridge to Syria, via Turkey, marking the first European aid of this kind since the fall of President Bashar al-Assad.

The aid includes emergency surgical kits for injuries and essential medicines.

“The supplies will be distributed to healthcare facilities and doctors in Syria in accordance with humanitarian principles so that all of Syria, especially Idlib and Aleppo, can benefit,” said Lorenzo Della Monte, a WHO planning analyst.

“These are primarily kits (…) that will allow doctors in Syria to perform thousands of surgical operations and treat the injured,” he added.

According to Monte, the 14 years of civil war have devastated Syria’s healthcare system.

“Nearly half of Syria’s hospitals are not operational,” he clarified. “With the situation on the ground also being volatile, our assistance to the Syrian people is even more crucial,” emphasized European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

After an 11-day assault, the coalition of rebels led by the Sunni Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) reached Damascus on December 8, ending half a century of Assad family rule.

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