Greece set to send 4th humanitarian aid shipment to Ukraine’s Odessa

By Magda Panoutsopoulou

ATHENS (AA) - Greece will send its fourth humanitarian aid shipment to Ukraine’s besieged city of Odessa on Tuesday, the Greek Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.

Some 50 tons of humanitarian supplies, including non-perishable food, bottled water, antiseptics, medical supplies, and three power generators, will be transported to cover the immediate needs of the city’s affected population, a ministry statement said.

The humanitarian mission is led by the Foreign Ministry with the help of the Hellenic Red Cross, Region of Attica, Doctors of the World, and Greek supermarket chain Sklavenitis.

On Monday, Dimitris Dochtsis, the Greek consul general in Odessa, had received additional humanitarian aid for the people in Ukraine, the statement said.

The move came amid escalating Russian-Greek tensions in the light of the latter's harsh criticism of the Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities. Last week, Greece declared 12 members of Russia's diplomatic and consular missions in the country “persona non grata.”

Meanwhile, the government puts a special focus on the situation of the around 100,000 ethnic Greeks living in eastern Ukraine, particularly concentrated in and around Mariupol.

Earlier this week, Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias criticized Russia for blocking its transfer of humanitarian aid to Mariupol, which has been besieged by Russian forces.

*Ahmet Gencturk in Ankara contributed to this report