Romanian politicians express solidarity with Ukraine
Romanian politicians on Friday expressed their solidarity with Ukraine and said that Romania’s support for the neighbouring country will continue. They also noted the sacrifice of Ukrainians and their courage to defend their country and freedom. One year after the outbreak of the Russian war in Ukraine, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis says Romania will continue to support Ukraine as long as necessary. The head of state recalls that Ukraine was attacked cruelly and without any justification by the Russian Federation, but the Ukrainian people impressed by their courage, strength and determination in defending their country and freedom. This battle must be won by Ukraine, and Russia must answer for the crimes committed and the lives destroyed, President Klaus Iohannis added. Romania’s Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă says in a message that Romania remains in solidarity with the Ukrainian people, as it has done since the early days of the conflict, through humanitarian support for refugees and political, diplomatic and economic support for Ukraine’s reconstruction effort. Acting Senate President Alina Gorghiu says Ukrainians deserve to live in peace and decide their own destiny. „We will always stand by all democratic nations and will not be deterred by criminals driven by wrong ideals,” says the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Marcel Ciolacu. MEP Victor Negrescu says that Romania’s support for both Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova is unconditional, and the response of democratic states to the barbaric act led by the Russian Federation must be unequivocal.
Bucharest lights up Government building in colours of Ukrainian flag
The Victoria Palace in Bucharest, the seat of the Romanian Government, will be lit up on Friday evening in the colours of the Ukrainian flag, as a sign of solidarity with the struggle of Ukrainians to defend their country and the democratic world. Also on Friday, more than 1,000 Ukrainian refugees protested for almost two hours in front of the Consulate General of the Russian Federation in Constanta, to mark a year from the outbreak of Russian aggression. People chanted against what they called „Russia’s war crimes in Ukraine”. „We thank the Romanians for their support and we feel safe here. Many of us are from Odessa, a port city in Ukraine, and Constanta reminds us of home,” said one of the participants. Around 8,000 Ukrainian refugees currently live in Constanta and nearby areas, and some of them say they want to start a new life in Romania, and to do so they want to learn Romanian and find a job.
Around 300,000 people from Ukraine entered the European Union through Romania’s Isaccea customs last year
Around 300,000 people from Ukraine entered the European Union last year through the customs in the town of Isaccea in Romania after Russia started the war, the Romanian Coast Guard announced on Friday. This customs post differs from the others in that the border is formed by the Danube, and passage from one country to another is by ferry. This means of transport has its own timetable and limited capacity. As of 24 February 2022, Isaccea has seen an increase of over 150% in passenger and freight traffic in both directions. The announced figures refer to the number of border crossings and not people. At national level, the Romanian Border Police announced that since the outbreak of the conflict in the neighbouring country, about 3.5 million Ukrainian citizens have entered Romania through all customs points, and of these, almost 750,000 were children.
Green week Programme for students and teachers is launched in Romania
Romanian students and teachers now have a website where they can find out what activities can be organised as part of the Green Week Programme. Entitled greenweek.edu.ro, the project was launched by the Romanian Ministry of Environment, Water and Forests. The Romanian Ministry of Education has also joined the initiative. This year, each school has one week from 27 February to 16 June 2023 to run the programme. Schools of all levels will carry out five consecutive days of activities to help prevent climate change and protect the environment – nature lessons, debates, role-playing, spoken photography, participatory scenario-building exercises, documentary screenings, experiments, living libraries, forum theatre, legislative theatre, community service projects, volunteering, expeditions and excursions to nature parks and protected areas, and others. According to a recent decision, the „School otherwise” and „Green Week” programmes can be organised in the same learning mode, but only in exceptional circumstances.
Magda Baciu
