STA, 28 February 2022 - First refugees from Ukraine are coming to Slovenia as Defence Minister Matej Tonin announced that some ten of them had already arrived in the country, and the company Esotech said that two families of its workers who were building a wastewater treatment plant in the city of Zhytomyr had been accommodated in a hotel in Velenje.
Esotech chairman Marko Škoberne told the STA that the families included two children, aged one year and a half, and two years.
Radio Slovenija meanwhile reported that the local energy agency plans to take over some Ukrainian workers in Romania on Tuesday.
After they cross the border, they will be brought to Velenje, where they will be accommodated with Slovenian families. The Velenje Youth Hotel will also be made available.
The Velenje municipality said it was concerned about the situation in Ukraine and that it wanted to help, as did many Velenje residents, and that it was in constant contact with the Government Office for the Support and Integration of Migrants.
"We are also waiting for guidelines from the Civil Protection and Disaster Relief Administration, which is expected to coordinate campaigns to collect aid for Ukraine and deliver it there," the local authorities added.
Defence Minister Tonin meanwhile said today that it was Slovenia's obligation to ensure humanitarian aid for Ukraine, adding that Slovenia was gearing up to accept Ukrainian refugees.
Tonin noted that the Ministry of Labour had secured accommodation capacities for some 80 potential Ukrainian children and mothers.
"Ukraine needs our help, and it is our moral duty to respond to such a call for help to the best of our ability and to help with material and financial resources and military assistance," the minister said.
According to him, the ministry will establish a special centre where people could bring the aid they want to donate to Ukraine.
At the same time, the Civil Protection and Disaster Relief Administration will provide logistic support to transport the aid to Ukraine and the countries that are receiving Ukrainian refugees.
Tonin said that a special group had already been set up in Slovenia to arrange everything necessary for the reception of refugees. "The first refugees, some ten of them, have already arrived in Slovenia," he added.
Accommodation for around 250 women with children from Ukraine has also been secured in a special centre in Logatec.
Civil Protection boss Srečko Šestan added that the institution would support the efforts to help accommodate refugees from Ukraine, including by providing logistical aid.
Slovenia sending rifles, helmets and ammunition to Ukraine
STA, 28 February 2022 - Slovenia has sent rifles, ammunition and helmets to Ukraine, Defence Minister Matej Tonin revealed on Monday. He would not talk about quantities beyond saying that the aid has already been dispatched with "several aircraft".
"It would not be wise to disclose all of these figures," he told reporters after a meeting with his EU counterparts.
The ministers held a virtual meeting to discuss aid to Ukraine after the European Commission announced the bloc would set aside EUR 450 million to purchase and deliver weapons to Ukraine.
Another EUR 50 million will be spent to help the Ukrainian army with non-lethal equipment such as fuel and medical supplies.
Ministry urges Slovenians to leave Russia, Belarus
STA, 28 February 2022 - The Foreign Ministry has urged Slovenian citizens who are currently in Russia and Belarus to leave the countries due to "limited flight connections and increased safety risks". The ministry said in a tweet they should choose safe travel options.
The ministry says on its website that the assistance that the Slovenian Embassy in Moscow can provide to Slovenian citizens in these areas is limited.
The ministry does not have exact data on how many Slovenians are currently in Russia or Belarus, as people are not obligated to inform them where they travel, but it is estimated that around a hundred are in Russia and around 50 in Belarus.
Flights between the EU and Russia have been suspended, after the EU shut its airspace to Russian planes on Sunday and Russia did the same for EU planes today.
Several other countries have also urged their citizens to leave Russia and Belarus.
Due to the Russian military aggression against Ukraine, Slovenian citizens had been advised against all trips to the territories of Russia and Belarus.
Russia launched the attack on Ukraine on Thursday, and some of the operations are also carried out from the territory of Belarus. The West has imposed sanctions on Russia.
Foreign Minister Anže Logar meanwhile signed decrees revoking the credentials of all Russian honorary consuls in Slovenia. "Russia no longer has honorary consuls in Slovenia," the minister announced on Twitter on Sunday.
