Oakville, Ont. church shipping supplies to fleeing Ukraine residents in Poland

Volunteers with St. Joseph’s Catholic Ukrainian Church in Oakville, Ont. package up supplies for residents fleeing Ukraine.

More than a hundred volunteers in Oakville, Ont. sorted through donations and packed up much needed supplies for war ravaged Ukraine on Tuesday.

St. Joseph’s Catholic Ukrainian Church is collecting baby food, clothing and medical supplies to send overseas. A member of the congregation says that he is overwhelmed by the response from the community and that supplies are coming in from across the GTA and southern Ontario.

“And there’s a diverse range of products that are being brought in here from medical supplies, to sleeping bags, to vests,” Fred Shlapak told CTV News Toronto.

Among the items collected include baby food, clothing and medical supplies—items Shlapak said have been arriving hour by hour.

By Tuesday morning, the church says they have received about 22,000 pounds of supplies.

Russian forces shelled Ukraine’s second-largest city Monday and a convoy of armoured vehicles and troops is closing in on Kyiv, the nation’s capital.

More than half a million people have already fled Ukraine to neighbouring countries in an effort to escape the violence, UN officials have said

In the next day or so, St. Joseph’s Catholic Ukrainian Church expects to ship two containers full of supplies to Poland, one of the neighbouring countries accepting fleeing Ukraine residents.

One container will be shipped by air while the other will travel by sea.