A Polish foundation purchased the first buses for Vinnytsia with donations following a high-profile scandal
The Polish foundation Sikorki na Ukrainie has purchased the first five buses, which had previously been taken out of service in the city of Kielce. The vehicles will soon be transferred to Vinnytsia.
The foundation was the sole bidder at an auction featuring 20 buses and purchased the first five vehicles for over 150,000 zlotys.
According to Dariusz Salwa, deputy director of the Kielce Municipal Transportation Authority, the buses were manufactured in 2009–2010, have about one million kilometers on the odometer, and are already significantly worn out.
“We have to take the age of these buses into account. They were manufactured in 2009–2010, have about one million kilometers on the odometer, and are already heavily worn,” noted Dariusz Salwa.
Funds for the purchase of the buses were raised through a nationwide charity campaign launched by the Sikorki na Ukrainie Foundation after the transfer of the vehicles as free aid was blocked due to objections from some members of the Kielce City Council.
Tomasz Szidlak, a volunteer with the foundation, emphasized that the initiative was purely humanitarian in nature.
“The campaign itself generated a very broad response. We wanted to show that we don’t engage in political commentary, but simply help people,” he said.
As a result of the campaign, over 600,000 zlotys were raised.
Sikorki na Ukrainie reported that they intend to participate in the next auction and purchase another 10 buses that are in better technical condition.
If there are no other buyers, they plan to put the remaining vehicles back up for sale at a lower price.
Initially, the plan was to donate the buses to Vinnytsia free of charge, but this idea was abandoned following criticism from some members of the Kielce City Council.
Opponents of the transfer argued that such a decision was economically unfeasible and also raised issues regarding Ukraine’s historical policy. In particular, they called on Vinnytsia to rename Stepan Bandera Street.
Despite the political debate, Kielce Mayor Agata Voida noted that the city’s residents had shown solidarity with Ukraine by supporting the fundraising effort to purchase the buses.
This was reported by TVP.
The Polish volunteer organization “Sikorki na Ukrainie” successfully completed a fundraising campaign to purchase passenger vehicles for Vinnytsia.
Vinnytsia withdrew its request for buses from Kielce amid a historical scandal
Earlier, Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski announced private consultations with Ukraine regarding the possible naming of one of the Special Operations Forces units “Heroes of the UPA.” According to him, this issue is being discussed through diplomatic channels.
Warsaw has reacted to the decision to rename the Ukrainian military unit. The unit in question is an elite unit of the Special Operations Forces, which, according to reports, was named in honor of the Heroes of the UPA. This has sparked a critical reaction among the Polish public and in political circles.
