Factbox: European and U.S. companies mobilise to help Ukrainians fleeing war
01/03/2022 15:08
March 1 (Reuters) - Companies across Europe and United
States have begun offering aid to Ukrainian authorities and
people fleeing war following Russia's invasion, as hundreds of
thousands leave their homes and head to safety in Poland and
other neighbouring countries.
The following are some companies which have since offered
aid. More are expected to follow in the coming days.
ENERGY
TotalEnergies said on Tuesday it would provide fuel to the
Ukrainian authorities and aid to refugees in Europe, but stopped
short of joining rivals Shell SHEL.L and BP BP.L in planning
to exit positions in oil-rich Russia. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2V40JP
INTERNET
More than a dozen telecom providers are either providing
free international calls to Ukraine or are scrapping roaming
charges there.
Firms who have taken measures include A1 Telekom Austria
Group, Altice Portugal, AT&T T.N , Deutsche Telekom DTEGn.DE ,
Orange ORAN.PA , Proximus PROX.BR , Swisscom SCMN.S ,
Telefonica TEF.MC , Telenor TEL.OL , Telia Company TELIA.ST ,
TIM TLIT.MI , KPN KPN.AS , Vivacom and Vodafone VOD.L .
FOOD
Poland's largest food retailer Biedronka said it would hire
family members of its 1,800 Ukrainian employees, who would each
receive a 1,000 zloty ($233) grant. It also pledged to allocate
$1.2 million to deliver basic food, hygiene and cleaning
products to refugees.
The supermarket chain, owned by Portugal's Jeronimo Martins
JMT.LS , also said on Tuesday it would withdraw products made
in Russia and Belarus, including Beluga and Russian Standard
vodka.
ACCOMMODATION
Airbnb ABNB.O CEO Brian Chesky said on Monday the rental
firm was working with its hosts to house up to 100,000 Ukrainian
refugees for free.
Polish hotel chain Arche Hotels said on Saturday it had
already lodged 1,000 refugees as it prepares to accommodate
5,000, while its establishment in Lublin, 100 km (62 miles)from
the border, collected bedding, clothing, Polish language books
and toys for children fleeing Ukraine.
Nordic Choice, one of Scandinavia's biggest hostel groups,
said its Vilnius hotel would provide free accommodation.
HEALTHCARE
Private provider LuxMed said it was providing free medical
assistance to people from Ukraine, with doctors and paramedics
stationed near the border, along with Swedish Medicover
MCOVb.ST which said it had launched a Ukrainian-language
helpline.
Gdansk-based womens' health clinic Nivique offered free
gynaecological services to female refugees.
TRAINS
Polish PKP Intercity said on Saturday its trains would carry
Ukrainian citizens for free from the border, while Deutsche Bahn
DBN.UL is offering Ukrainian passport or ID-card holders free
travel on its long-distance trains from Poland to Germany.
BUSES
Flixbus said it had given out 1,000 free tickets in the
first 15 hours since it began offering the service on Sunday,
and that it would send 40 buses free-of-charge to the
Ukrainian-Polish border with routes from Przemysl, near the main
border crossing of Medyka.
CARS
Panek CarSharing, which rents passenger cars and delivery
vans across Poland, said on Friday it was allocating 1,000 cars
for transport to the border with Ukraine, and invited volunteers
without cars to volunteer to help.
Bolt told Reuters on Tuesday it would donate 5% of the
income of its ride-hailing, grocery delivery and other
businesses in Europe over the next two weeks to humanitarian
aid. The Estonian firm also pledged to pay to relocate 100
employees based in Ukraine if they should choose. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2V367L
LOGISTICS
Trans.EU on Sunday pledged nearly $500,000 for aid for
Ukrainians and said it was organising a network carriers to
bring supplies from Western Europe to Ukraine.
The CEO of Polish parcel locker firm InPost INPST.AS said
it would use parts of its fleet and drivers to transport aid
packages collected by Polish communities to Ukraine.
($1 = 4.2888 zlotys)
(Reporting by Sarah Morland, Marie Mannes, Marta Frackowiak and
Federica Mileo, Editing by William Maclean)
((sarah.morland@thomsonreuters.com; +48 58 769 65 92;))