Twenty tonnes of humanitarian aid, which was collected throughout the previous month by the Institute for Community Development PROI, was sent from Sarajevo to Ukraine on Monday.

The President of the Institute, Uliana Bakh, explained that the aid includes food, especially baby food, as well as hygiene products, as well as medicines and medical materials. She added that the process of collecting aid involved cooperation with companies from all over the country, adding that health centres and pharmacies showed great interest.

“And a number of BiH citizens contributed to the collection of this aid in smaller quantities,” Bakh pointed out. She also stressed that BiH has not yet resolved the issue of refugees from Ukraine who enter the country with tourist visas, which means that they can only stay for 30 days.

Bokh urged the BiH Council of Ministers to introduce a temporary status for Ukrainian refugees, following the example of the EU and the countries of the region, which would enable them to stay for up to a year as well as provide them with health insurance and employment opportunities.

She noted that most of the refugees are women with children who are staying with friends or relatives and who do not need large social benefits but only want to exercise their basic rights.