UAE sends plane carrying food supplies for Ukrainian refugees in Bulgaria

The latest shipment is a part of $5 million commitment that the Emirates announced in March

The UAE in June sent a plane carrying 52 tonnes of food supplies for Ukrainian refugees in Bulgaria. All photos: Wam

The humanitarian support was part of continuing efforts by Emirati authorities to support displaced Ukrainians affected by the conflict with Russia.

The plane is being loaded with food packets.

In March, the UAE announced it would provide relief aid to affected civilians in Ukraine worth $5 million, in response to an urgent appeal by the UN.

The aid plane was dispatched after talks between Reem Al Hashemy, Minister of State for International Co-operation, and Teodora Genchovska, Bulgaria's Minister of Foreign Affairs.

The UAE on Thursday sent a plane carrying 52 tonnes of food supplies for Ukrainian refugees in Bulgaria.

The humanitarian support is part of continuing efforts by Emirati authorities to support displaced Ukrainians affected by the conflict with Russia.

It is estimated that Bulgaria is hosting more than 90,000 people who fled Ukraine.

The aid plane was dispatched after talks between Reem Al Hashemy, Minister of State for International Co-operation, and Teodora Genchovska, Bulgaria's Minister of Foreign Affairs.

During the talks, Mr Genchovska spoke about bilateral relations and the UAE's efforts to provide relief to Ukrainian refugees.

Sultan Al Kaitoob, UAE's ambassador to Bulgaria, said the Emirates was keen to “actively participate in humanitarian relief efforts in light of the leadership’s directives to provide support and assistance to Ukrainian refugees in neighbouring countries”.

He also said the UAE government and its people are always ready to stand by other countries during crises.

On June 18, the UAE sent more than 27 tonnes of food and medical supplies to support Ukrainian refugees in Poland.

Before that, the Emirates sent six planes to Poland and Moldova, carrying more than 156 tonnes of food and medical supplies.

In March, the UAE announced it would provide relief aid to affected civilians in Ukraine worth $5 million, in response to an urgent appeal by the UN.

Ukraine conflict — in pictures

Ukrainian servicemen in a shelter at the frontline near Kharkiv. AP

A Ukrainian and his puppy in the Donetsk region. AP

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, third left, is shown apartment buildings damaged by Russian shelling during his visit to Irpin on the outskirts of Kyiv. AP

Rescue specialists work at the site of a destroyed residential building after blasts in Belgorod, Russia. Reuters

A woman lays flowers during a demonstration against the invasion of Ukraine in front of the Palais des Nations, in Geneva, Switzerland. EPA

A woman injured when her house was damaged by the Russian shelling sits in the yard of her house, in Bakhmut, Ukraine. AP

Local residents stand next to a damaged residential building in the town of Serhiivka, about 50 kilometres south-west of Odesa, Ukraine. AP

Viktor Shevchenko stands in a crater to show its depth after a Russian shelling in the Saltivka district in Kharkiv. AP

An image taken from a video provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office purports to show the moment a missile struck the shopping mall in Kremenchuk. AP

People watch as smoke rises after a Russian missile strike hit a crowded shopping mall, in Kremenchuk. AP

Firefighters clean the rubble of the destroyed Amstor shopping mall in Kremenchuk. EPA

A woman cries after the body of her husband, who was killed in the yard of an apartment building during shelling, was loaded into an ambulance in Kharkiv, Ukraine. AP

Firefighters and rescue workers at the destroyed Amstor shopping mall. EPA

Rescuers work at the site of a shopping mall hit by a Russian missile strike, in Kremenchuk. Reuters

A couple wounded by a Russian missile strike hold hands in a hospital, in Kremenchuk. Reuters

People wait to receive humanitarian aid in front of a residential building damaged during a Russian attack in Borodyanka, Ukraine. EPA

Ukrainian servicemen take a bus to their positions near Severodonetsk, in Luhansk area. EPA

A Ukrainian service member and a dog in the industrial area of the city of Severodonetsk. Reuters

A couple sits in front of a residential building that was damaged during a Russian attack, in Borodyanka. EPA

Local residents receive humanitarian aid in Borodyanka. EPA

A Ukrainian armed forces tank in Severodonetsk. Reuters

Ukrainian service members walk past a damaged car in Severodonetsk. Reuters

A giant Ukrainian flag is held up during the benefit concert 'Embrace Ukraine' on the Museumplein in Amsterdam. The free event will raise money for victims of the war in Ukraine and the purchase of mobile X-ray equipment that the country needs. EPA

A fire from a gas processing plant continues to burn behind a field of wheat after it was hit by shelling a few days earlier in Andriivka, in the Kharkiv region. Reuters

An onlooker takes in the damage from overnight shelling on Kharkiv's Housing and Communal College. Reuters

A destroyed tank in the village of Novoselivka, outside Chernigiv. AFP

A man decorates a toy cabin for children made from used ammunition crates in the village of Novoselivka, outside Chernigiv. AFP

An internal view of the Housing and Communal College building damaged by recent shelling in Kharkiv. EPA