– This has gone well in very controlled ways, but it is a reminder that we are in a country at war. No one needs to worry about us. It is worse with those who live here. They experience this daily. I understand well that the Ukrainians call it Russian terror, says LO leader Peggy Hessen Følsvik.
In recent days, VG has been with her and the other two leading LO leaders, Trade Union leader Mette Nord and Joint Union leader Jørn Eggum in the Ukrainian city of Lviv, a few miles into Ukraine from the border with Poland:
They have been in Lviv since the night of Monday, where they brought with them money and equipment that was handed over to the Ukrainian authorities and to their sister organizations in the Ukrainian trade union movement.
The organization Fritt Ukraina organizes the trip to the LO delegation.
– Nothing pleasant
The flight alarm went off around 04:00 on the night of Wednesday. The LO delegation met after a few minutes in the reception at the hotel, which together went to the bomb room in the hotel’s basement.
News media referred to mayor Andriy Sadovyi of Lviv who conveyed that people must seek refuge because rockets have been reported in the region.
After just under an hour, it was reported that the danger was over and Følsvik and the delegation could go up to their rooms again.
But they had barely reached the sheet before the flight alarm went off again and they had to descend into the shelter again.
On Wednesday, VG confirmed that six rockets were shot down outside the city.
– It is not pleasant, but I did not feel unsafe in any way, says the LO leader.
The delegation has a security officer, who during the trip has repeatedly explained the routines to be followed if the alarm goes off.
Lviv is very far from the front and has not previously experienced any bombings.
Promises full and long-term support
Fellesforbund leader Jørn Eggum took it all very calmly, but when he learned about the six missiles, the pipe took on a more serious note.
– The security system worked very well and I didn’t feel any anxiety, even though the alarms went off and we had to make a couple of trips to the basement. But I have to say I was shocked when I heard that the missiles were shot down so close. In any case, it is nothing against what the citizens of this country experience on a daily basis, with attack upon attack from Putin’s Russia, where thousands of civilians have been killed as innocent victims of the attacks by the Russian forces.
He says that the attack highlights how important it is to contribute air defense to Ukraine.
– We are here to support the Ukrainian trade union movement and the Ukrainian people. We will continue to do that until the war is over. We will be with them all the time and we will contribute to the reconstruction of Ukraine. We promise full and long-term support, says Eggum.
