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Dublin Live
National
Emma Nevin

Professor Luke O'Neill 'more worried' about starvation than Covid-19 in Ukraine

Professor Luke O'Neill has described "heartbreaking" scenes on the Ukraine/Poland border after he spent the past week delivering supplies there.

The Trinity College immunologist is on his way back to Ireland and said he saw "unbelievable numbers" of refugees in Poland and Slovakia.

Speaking on Newstalk, Professor O'Neill said that starvation is a bigger worry to Ukraine at the moment than Covid-19.

Read more: Rhinovirus Ireland: HSE advises people with these symptoms to stay at home

He said: "Only 30% vaccination rate in Ukraine.

"It was a country that had low vaccination rates, and that's the case in eastern European countries.

"At the moment I'm more worried about starvation, that's how serious it is there.

"But medical agencies are keeping a very close eye on Covid and other infectious diseases as well".

He described the scenes he witnessed while delivering aid to Ukrainian borders.

"We delivered a huge amount of medical supplies to the border with Poland and Ukraine - that was last Friday," he said.

Read more: Dublin shop manager killed after returning home to fight for Ukraine

Read more: Greystones hairdresser to give free haircuts to Ukrainian people arriving in area

"And then we drove down to Bratislava in Slovakia [where] there's a huge depot run by Depaul, I'm an ambassador for Depaul by the way.

"They're coordinating a massive supply depot there.

"There's a lot of refugees, unbelievable numbers in Poland and in Slovakia, I couldn't get over it."

Professor O'Neill said there were no men to be seen among the huge numbers of refugees.

"We were in Krakow last weekend and the streets are full of families - we're talking mothers, grandmothers and children, no men. All the men are back fighting."

"Loads of Ukrainian number plates everywhere, same in Bratislava - we stayed in a hotel, there were 15 families in that hotel.

"It was medical supplies, food was needed because of the starvation happening, hygiene supplies - I was able to witness all that."

Read more: Russian embassy trying to secure 3,000 litres of heating oil from outside Dublin

Read more: Ukrainian couple who fled war had car broken into and belongings stolen in Dublin

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