Romania supporting Ukraine - News of the Day

The 29th day of war in Ukraine. Romania continues its actions to support Ukrainian refugees and Kyiv authorities, Agerpres reports.

Here is a selection of the main news of Thursday, March 24:

* President Klaus Iohannis declared on Thursday, before the extraordinary NATO summit, that he will present the allies the logistics hub in Suceava and will invite them to contribute aid for Ukraine.
"First of all, at this summit we want to prove that we are united, that we stand united within NATO, but also in the transatlantic relationship. We want to discuss how we can further help Ukraine. In the first place, this is about humanitarian aid for Ukraine and for those forced to leave Ukraine, for those who flee the war. We also want to discuss issues that are extremely important to us, such as reinforcing NATO's eastern flank. In my address I will emphasize the importance of unity, the importance of support for Ukraine, for the refugees. I will present the logistics hub we have set up in Suceava and I will invite the allies to contribute aid for Ukraine. I will also present our concerns about the Republic of Moldova, about Moldova's security, energy and economic situation. I will insist that NATO's eastern flank needs to be better reinforced," President Iohannis told a news conference before NATO's extraordinary summit in Brussels.

* As many as 527,553 Ukrainian nationals had entered Romania as of March 23 at 24:00 hrs since the start of the military conflict in the neighboring country, the General Border Police Inspectorate (IGPF) reports. As many as 54,217 travelers of whom 8,910 Ukrainian nationals entered Romania on Wednesday (by 4.1 pct less compared to the previous day), with 4,855 Ukrainian nationals crossing into Romania at the border with Ukraine (by 5.4 pct more), and 2,692 entering the country at the border with Moldova (by 17.9 pct less), the IGPF said.

* The Navasart complex in the Snagov commune (about 40 km north of the country's capital, Bucharest - ed.n.) offers peace in the paddle noise made by the Romanian athletes off the lake, but nothing can drive away the thoughts of the Ukrainians from the Olympic kayak-canoe team. They left home when there was peace, and now they can't return because of the war. They experience the turmoil in the oasis of peace at Snagov.
"Clearly I never expected to have a war in Ukraine, but sometimes that happens in life. We were in training camp in Antalya with the Olympic team and now we are very happy to have arrived in Snagov. At the Navasart complex we are offered all the conditions. We all hope that peace will come and we will return to Ukraine. We are glad that the whole sport family is alive, that we are all healthy and we are also glad that we are in Romania," Igor Nagaev, the coordinating coach of the Olympic kayak-canoe team of Ukraine, a very large man, former great athlete of the Soviet Union, with two Olympic medals in canoe in '88, in Seoul, told AGERPRES.

* An exhibition of pictures that capture the empathic reaction of the people in norteastern Suceava to the drama facing the Ukrainians who took refuge in our country after the outbreak of the armed conflict will be presented at the Romanian Senate, in the Holy Week and the Renewal Week, at the initiative of the country authorities and the MPs from Suceava, subprefect Cristian Sologon informed on Thursday. In order to gather even more relevant images for the same topic as that of the exhibition, the organizers are making available for the photographers the Facebook page "Suceava 2022 - the Customs of Hope on the Road of Pain," and also the e-mail address [email protected].

* A 27-year-old woman from Ukraine, a refugee in southeastern Galati, has given birth to a baby girl at the Buna Vestire maternity hospital in the city, hospital officials reported on Thursday. The baby was delivered by C-section that went very well, with the little girl, who will be baptised Olivia, weighing in at 3.200 kilograms. The woman, who also has a 7-year-old boy, told the medical staff that in Mykolaiv, where she came from to Romania, she had hidden for three weeks in the basement of the local maternity hospital with doctors and other patients. This is the second child of a refugee mother to be born at the Buna Vestire maternity hospital in Galati. Another woman gave birth to a baby girl who weighed in at 3.700 kilograms at birth.

* A group of 37 Ukrainian refugees, including several young football players, was accommodated at the National Sports Complex in central Izvoru Muresului, informs the spokesman of the Prefect's Office, Adrian Panescu. According to the same source, the first group, consisting of 31 people from the Chernivtsi and Dnipropetrovsk regions, arrived in Izvoru Muresului a few days ago, following a move by the Romanian Football Federation. This group includes 13 women and 17 children, as well as a retired man. Of the children, 13 are boys and four are girls, the youngest being one year and a few months old.

* A number of 737 Ukrainian citizens entered the country in the last 24 hours through the border checkpoints in southeastern Galati County, but none of them applied for asylum, the Galati Prefecture informs on Thursday. For asylum seekers from Ukraine, 245 places are available in the Galati Regional Center for Procedures and Accommodation for Asylum Seekers, none of which are occupied. For migrants from Ukraine in transit, the City Hall of Galati has provided a block of flats with 130 places, of which 84 are occupied, and in the Siderurgistul Sports Base's gyms there are 150 places, of which 14 are occupied. Also, there are 592 places in the dormitories belonging to the Dunarea de Jos University of Galati, of which 362 are occupied, and in the boarding schools and gyms belonging to the educational units in the county there are 394 places, of which 99 are occupied. A mobile camp on the Danube stadium with 402 places was also organized in the city of Galati, all of which are currently vacant. Pensions and NGOs in Galati County have provided 497 places, of which 104 are occupied.

* More than 90 Ukrainian architects and designers have announced their intention to work for Romanian companies, by filling in an online form. They responded to a move initiated by the centre-western Cluj-based architect Vlad Negru and popularized by the Romanian Order of Architects. Thus, Ukrainian architects looking for a job, as well as the architectural offices that intend to hire them, are invited to fill in online forms. Architect Ioan-Razvan Molie, managing director of a Bucharest company, says that he has taken steps to hire Ukrainian refugee architects in Romania, both through the platform promoted by OAR, and also through the special section for refugees on E-jobs. In the registration form for architects, the vast majority of candidates have announced their intention to work remotely, but there are also some who can work in Romania. Among the languages they speak there are mainly English or Russian, but also German, Romanian, French or Spanish. Seven companies said they want to hire a total of nine architects, in Bucharest, Cluj, Oradea, Miercurea Ciuc, Alba Iulia, Baia Mare or Arad.

* Romania has taken restrictive measures in respect of actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine against three entities indirectly controlled through TMK Steel Holding United by a natural person on the list of sanctions imposed EU-wide, Romania's National Tax Administration Agency (ANAF) reported on Thursday.