Vinnitsa, Ukraine, August 30, 2017
Photo: news.church.ua Volunteers from the Union of Vinnitsa Paratroopers together with a priest of the Vinnitsa Diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church have delivered humanitarian aid, collected by the clergy and faithful of the diocese, to ATO (the official Ukrainian term for the "anti-terrorist operation" in the Donbass region") soldiers and civilians in the Ukrainian army occupied zone of Donetsk regions, reports the Information-Education Department of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
Another load of cargo was delivered on August 24 by Archpriest Anatoly Kuznetsov and the several volunteers to the cities and villages in the immediate vicinity of the demarcation line in Donbass in Eastern Ukraine.
Soldiers of the 72nd brigade in Avdiivka and the divisions of the Ukrainian Security Service delivered handmade products, vegetables, fruit, water, and also medicine. Part of the aid remained in the village of Gornyak where there is a team dealing with the evacuation of slain soldiers.
Fr. Anatoly and his companions also left part of the humanitarian assistance in Bakhmut and Kalinova, from where the aid will be directly delivered to soldiers on the front line, and also to civilians in need of assistance there. The volunteers also delivered 250 school kits to Donbass which had been collected in the Diocese of Vinnitsa with the blessing of Metropolitan Simeon as part of the “Backpacks of Mercy” action. The kits were delivered to orphanages and individual families.
Fr. Anatoly also devoted special pastoral attention to soldiers from the village where he serves who now serve in the 72nd brigade and in other units which he visited. Following his meetings with them, Fr. Anatoly passed on words of gratitude from the soldiers to the residents who contributed to the collection and delivery of the humanitarian aid.
