Kobe Keizai News — The KOBE Sannomiya Machizukuri Council, an organization comprising 27 companies and groups including shopping arcades and commercial facilities in Sannomiya, Kobe’s central district, held a fundraising campaign on Feb. 23 at Sannomiya Center Street ahead of Feb. 24, which marks four years since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The campaign aims to support evacuees from Ukraine staying in Kobe. In addition to shop owners and local children, Ukrainian evacuees currently residing in Kobe took part, holding donation boxes and calling on shoppers and passersby in the shopping district to contribute.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, the council has organized fundraising campaigns mainly around Feb. 24, the date the invasion began, and Aug. 24, Ukraine’s Independence Day. The total amount raised so far — through street collections, permanent donation boxes, and contributions from shop owners — has exceeded 14 million yen. Initially, the donations were sent to the Embassy of Ukraine in Japan. However, after the Ukrainian ambassador to Japan visited Sannomiya Center Street during a street campaign and requested support for evacuees staying in Kobe, the council has allocated the entire amount to supporting their daily lives since the autumn of 2023.

Four years after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, families who arrived in Kobe as the first group of evacuees are now entering their fourth year of life in the city. Keiichi Kuri, chairman of the council, noted that “as their stay becomes prolonged, education for the children becomes increasingly important.” The council plans to respond by increasing the proportion of donations allocated to education-related expenses. In particular, education related to their home country, including the Ukrainian language, is expected to become a key issue.

“Our greatest contribution to Ukraine’s reconstruction will be to ensure that well-educated young people can one day return to their country,” Kuri said emphatically.