Airbnb said it would provide free temporary housing to up to 100,000 Ukrainian refugees, joining a host of companies offering support and donations in the wake of the Russian invasion.
Airbnb.org, the home rental platform nonprofit created to provide housing assistance during international crises, will partner with resettlement agencies to house Ukrainian refugees around the world.
The cost of stays will be covered by Airbnb, donors to its refugee fund, and hosts offering discounted or free accommodation.
“We know Airbnb hosts and guests around the world will be eager to stand up and support this massive effort and in the coming days Airbnb plans to share details of how Airbnb hosts and the community at broad can support this initiative,” he said. mentioned.
Other companies are channeling their support by donating millions of pounds to charities helping those hardest hit by the Ukraine crisis. Jeweler Pandora has donated more than $1million (£746,000) to UN children’s agency Unicef, while shoe chain Kurt Geiger has donated £50,000 to the British Red Cross , which works with the Ukrainian Red Cross to provide food, water, medical supplies, clothing and shelter to those caught up in the conflict.
Neil Clifford, CEO of Kurt Geiger, said, “This is a situation of human suffering and we feel we have a moral obligation to reach out and help in any way we can. In light of this human crisis, we will be donating 100% of last week’s Kurt Geiger store profits. »
Ukraine has received an increase in corporate donations and huge sums have flowed into the country in the past 24 hours.
Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, is donating $10 million to aid humanitarian efforts. It also goes freeze the accounts of sanctioned Russian customersafter Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov called on major digital currency platforms to block crypto transactions among all Russian users.
“We block the accounts of those on the sanctions list (if they have Binance accounts) and ensure that all sanctions are fully complied with,” a spokesperson for the company told Reuters on Monday, declining to give more details.
Cryptocurrency analysts say anonymous bitcoin donors have committed at least $13.7 million to Ukraine’s war effort, as an alternative to donations through traditional crowdfunding and payment companies, some of which prohibit payments to groups supporting the Ukrainian military.
Elliptic, a blockchain analytics firm, claims that the Ukrainian government, NGOs, and volunteers raised the funds by posting their Bitcoin wallet addresses online.
Game companies have joined the crowdfunding wave, and Polish developer 11 Bit Studios has announced that it will donate profits made from its anti-war PC game, This War of Mine, next week to the Ukrainian Red Cross.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has forced nearly 400,000 people to flee their homes in Ukraine, according to the UN refugee agency. More than 4.5 million more could follow if the fighting spreads, Ukrainian authorities said. The number of civilians killed has risen to at least 352, the Ukrainian Interior Ministry said.
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